Vindicated Masses
by Spiritstrike
Summary: Connor had no idea what he was getting himself into until he woke up in a prison against his will. Experimented upon by people he once believed fictional, all he can do is wait until he can escape. When he finally does, his only hope for survival is to lay low in the most hellish place in the galaxy. OC Insert. Rated for violence, drug use, and profanity.
1. Prisoner in Hell

Vindicated Masses

 **I have no idea why I'm posting this up, but I fucking am because it wouldn't leave my head! I hate it when that happens and it's driven me insane to the point where it hurts my head whenever I think about it.**

 **Funny thing is, this story was... a little bit inspired by the Hero, I Am Not/Still Not A Hero SI series by Soleneus. It's a really cool set of stories and I think he's freakin' amazing at what he does.**

 **This is my first time writing a human male main character, if you do not count Jason Clark from** **Guardian Angel** **. And honestly, I doubt it's going to be too hard because, men should be easy to write. But being a woman... that might be a bit of an understatement. I just hope it works out for me.**

 **Let's get started.**

* * *

" _Truth is generally the best vindication against slander."_

–Abraham Lincoln

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

 **Prisoner in Hell**

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, feeling as though I had slept for a very long time when in truth I had only closed my eyes several seconds ago where I had been lying in bed. Everything was all a blur, but from what I could see through the haze was nothing more than a sharp shine of bone white. From what I could tell, I was lying on my side with my head resting upon my right forearm and there was a small puddle of blood on the floor beside me... my blood. I blinked groggily several times to try and clear the haze, but I couldn't seem to shake off the pain.

The moment I tried to sit up, white hot lightning burned into the back of my head and I became dizzy, I had to force myself to lie back down to try and ease the suffering. The more I lay there, the less the haze became and everything was becoming clearer. I was able to take in a better view of my surroundings and I realised that I was actually lying in what appeared to be a completely blank single room with four white walls, a ceiling and floor with only one door for an exit at the far end of the room. My fingers were able to feel out the cold, steel floor, but I could do no more than feel. Everything else was completely unresponsive.

I don't know how long I laid there for, but eventually feeling began to come back in my arms and legs, I was able to move again, only this time I took it slowly. I carefully pushed myself until I was sitting up on my backside. I reached behind my head and my fingers brushed over my dark mattered head, feeling the sense of something wet. I pull it back into view and discovered – true to the pool on the floor – that it was completely covered in blood.

Reality check, kiddo, you've possibly been knocked out and been kidnapped by some crazy psycho from your own home. It's obviously someone with a taste for blinding white walls and floors.

I looked around to try and work out where I was, but unfortunately was unable to make out the cell or anything out of the ordinary except for a single bed in the far left corner behind me. There was absolutely no clue as to what or even who had taken me prisoner.

I shot my vision down to my clothes, only to find that I was not in my pyjamas like I thought I'd be, but instead I was dressed in some sort of white t-shirt and pants, but with nothing to cover my bare feet. My right arm was covered in dried blood from where it had slowly dripped from my head to the floor. I slowly rub my eyes to clear the rest of the haze and was finally able to grasp what the situation was. Wherever I was, I doubt I'd be getting out of here any time soon, not while I was in this broken condition.

It might be possible that I have a concussion, I cannot tell, but the way my head was spinning was enough to convince me otherwise. Hopefully whoever had taken me hostage would be kind enough to give me medical treatment, but a nagging sensation in my gut simply told me it was not possible.

The sound of something hard constantly tapping on the floor outside my cell was enough to tell me that someone with high heels was making their way towards me. I jumped as a woman's voice ordered someone to open up door. There was a hesitant response, followed by the clicking of a door unlocking, and then it opened in a strange formation where it split into four and vanished into the corners.

Two men dressed in thick black and white armour with yellow trims and odd looking helmets stepped inside, followed by a woman with long black hair, blue eyes, and looking damn good in a black and white skin-tight outfit. At first I didn't recognise any of them until I saw that all too familiar symbol on their shoulders and chest, and then it dawned upon me on where I was and what had happened to me.

Holy mother of fucking God... It was Miranda Lawson, and the two armoured men were Cerberus troopers, which made it painfully obvious to me that I was held captive by Cerberus... and that I was in the Mass Effect universe!

How could I be in this place? I swear I was asleep in my own bed! This had to be some kind of nightmare and that I was somehow trapped in it, unable to wake up again. If it was a nightmare, everything certainly felt, smelt, and sounded very real. It was far too convincing to even be a dream!

"Who are you?" I demanded, pretending to play dumb. "What's going on? Where am I?"

Miranda didn't even bother to answer my questions as she motioned to the two troopers at her side. They stood at attention, awaiting her orders. "Bring him to the lab," she commanded. "Doctor Carrington wants to take a look at him before we prep him for the tests."

Tests? What lab? Who was Doctor Carrington? Just what the fuck was going on here?

Before I had time to protest, the troopers pulled out their single handed guns and walked toward me. The one on the left managed to grab both my wrists in a swift motion and handcuffed me. The second trooper then gestured to me with his weapon. "Get up," he ordered coldly.

I did was I was told, slowly picking myself up off the ground, but my cuffed wrists made it difficult to move. I staggered as my whole world was sent into a spinning frenzy, and began to topple toward the floor.

A pair of arms manages to grab me roughly and pick me back up on my feet, the room started to blur again, but I was able to fight through my vision and make out what was clearly Miranda folding her arms across her chest and looking quite smug about my appearance. I fought back through the hazy vision and glared defiantly back at her, if she thought she was going to get the satisfaction that I was helpless, she had another thing coming. Whether she was fazed by my furious stare, she didn't even show it on her cold, hard face.

"Get moving, now!" the first trooper who spoke before barked, hitting me in the back of my head with the butt of his rifle and sending me staggering forward. I did as he ordered, slowly walking forward despite feeling beads of blood trickling down my forehead and over my eyes until I was seeing red.

I soon became aware that the troopers were pushing me in a certain direction with Miranda walking behind them. She obviously wanted to keep out of the way in case I tried anything funny, but, considering how she was a powerful biotic, she probably wanted to be close by in case the action started. Judging from my situation with two troopers with their rifles and a biotic with a pistol strapped to her hip, I highly doubt I was even going to take one step to freedom any time soon.

I tried to analyse my surroundings as we went further along the corridor, but the injury to my head prevented me from making out anything that seemed out of the ordinary. The more I was shoved along, the harder it was for me to even keep awake and move at the same time.

At long last, we finally reached a room that turned out to be some kind of... lab. The room was fairly large with several tables in the middle, a computer desk and chair, and one table littered with odd looking tools that I cannot even begin to imagine what they were even used for.

There was a thin, young man with short black hair and gray eyes. He was dressed in a white lab coat and sitting at the computer desk while taking notes on his datapad.

He must be Doctor Carrington, judging from him being the only person in the room besides Miranda, myself and the two troopers.

Miranda cleared her throat, causing the doctor to lift his head in her direction. He quickly put the datapad down, straightened his posture and made his way toward us, his grey eyes fixed on us in a seemingly hungry gaze. God, is everyone always attracted to Miranda? Then again, she is a pleasing sight to any man, considering her modifications.

"Ah, Miss Lawson," the doctor drawled, his voice surprisingly husky for someone his age, "I see you've brought in the subject." He looked me up and down as though he was trying to decide whether or not I was decent enough, his expression forming into a frown. "He looks rather skinny, you sure he's the right man for the project?"

Miranda shot him a cool look, folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight on one leg. "I am sure he is the one, doctor," she stated firmly. "And I'm never wrong, you should know that by now."

The doctor waved a hand in her direction. "Of course, of course," he grumbled. "I know the drill." He fiddled with his lab coat and turned to face me again, this time his eyes were burning with some kind of desire. He wrung his hands together in an almost creepy manner. "Right, let's get started," he grinned. "Bring him to the chair."

I tried to wrestle my arm free from the strong grasp the troopers had on me, but they obviously felt me tense beneath their touch. They gripped me even tighter as they forced me toward the chair. If I was going to somehow get out of this alive, then I was going to have to play along until the opportunity presented itself. I don't know what they planned to do with me, but I sure as hell am not going to fall for some anti-alien bullshit talk.

I was pushed even closer to the chair that was waiting for me, but I hesitated too long in not wanting to go in it. I could feel my heart pounding furiously against my chest, the adrenaline surging through my blood in preparation to fight or flee. I did what any nature prey animal would do.

I turned and fled, wrestling free from the troopers hold.

"We've got a runner!" one of the troopers shouted.

I was over halfway of getting toward the door when I felt something collide into my back. I was sent hurtling through the air and crashing to the floor. My vision swam as I struggled to overcome the pounding sensation in my brain, my concussion clearly worsening. As if to make things worse, blood started to pour on the ground in front of me.

A black high-heeled foot stepped in front of me. "Pathetic," Miranda's cold voice speared into my ears like ice cold daggers. "You can't even handle a simple warp." She snorted. "No matter, once we've sorted you out, you will not be as weak as before."

I turned my head slightly to the left in an attempt to look up at her. "Why are you doing this?" I gasped. "What do you want with me?"

Two pairs of arms roughly lifted me up off the ground and my head sagged against my chest, my vision dancing as it stained red from my blood.

Black hair wavered in front of me as Miranda drew closer to my face, her mouth set into a thin line, "You seem to be the only one we've found capable of doing what we want to accomplish," she sneered. "By human standards, you shouldn't have survived what we did to you earlier, but you did. That makes you special, and a wonderful specimen to use for what we have in mind."

She whipped around to the doctor and motioned the troopers to bring me back to the chair.

I have no idea what she meant by 'human standards' and what Cerberus did to me earlier, but somehow I doubt she was talking to the real me personally. Maybe I did something earlier and it fascinated Cerberus to want to use me. But what did I do? I don't remember anything at all!

I was shoved into the chair and tightly strapped down by my arms and legs, preventing me from struggling any further. I was completely at the mercy of Doctor Carrington. Despite that, I still wriggled, shaking my head left and right and even trying to pull my wrists through the straps.

It was a futile effort.

"Well done," Miranda said to the troopers, "you may wait outside. He won't be any trouble anymore."

The troopers did as ordered, slapping their chests in affirmation before they turned and left the room.

Doctor Carrington snickered as I tried to struggle again, shaking his head. "Now, now, boy," he said. "I wouldn't move too much. If you do, you'll only make things worse." He leered above me, his hand gripping my chin tightly as he forced me to look into his stormy eyes. "You belong to Cerberus now, whether you like it or not."

He let go and stepped away, my ears picking up the sound of tinkering. I couldn't tell what he was up to, but he seemed to be mucking around with the tools on the bench behind us. For what seemed like hours were merely a matter of minutes, he returned with something in his hand. At the sight of the needle filled with some kind of green liquid, I panicked and struggled pathetically in my straps.

"Oh come now, boy, it's nothing to be afraid of," the doctor chuckled darkly. "It's just a needle."

I honestly didn't want to tell him I was afraid of needles.

"This will only hurt a bit and then you'll be out like a light," he continued. "It's nothing to worry about."

Yeah right, you're lying through your teeth, you fucking jerk.

The needle drew closer to an exposed vein in my neck and I struggled even more, even if I wasn't going to go anywhere. I swung my head left and right, but in the end, the creepy doctor managed to take hold of my head with a surprisingly strong grip. I felt the sharp jab of the needle and then... all hell broke loose.

I had no idea what the bastard put into that needle, but it was only a minute after he had inserted the needle that it began to happen. It started out as a weird tingling sensation in my head, before pins and needles began to spread from the base of my skull down to my tail bone. But then it spread faster and into my arms and legs, and then... ice cold pain stabbed into my senses unlike anything I had felt before. I screamed as agony poured into my limbs and brain.

Everything became completely hazy! I was deaf and I was blind, but I could still feel every sensation in my skin beginning to burn with the unbearable pain! It was unlike anything I had felt before, and I think my throat became raw from screaming so long.

I don't know how long the pain lasted, but it came to a point where I started crying from all the ongoing stabbing sensations in my brain and skin.

The last thing I saw was the cold smirk of Miranda Lawson, as though she was enjoying seeing me in this terrifying situation. Eventually, I blacked out into the comforts of darkness.

* * *

I wasn't sure what woke me up, but somehow I managed to open my eyes and I saw that I was lying on my back... and in bed. But it was not the same kind of bed that was originally in my home. The sheets and pillow were just as bone white as the walls, floor, and ceiling. I shut my eyes tightly together, struggling to understand what had just occurred.

The last thing I remembered was Miranda staring at me like as if I was some kind of specimen, and the unbearable pain that had knocked me out. But now... there was almost no feeling in my body anywhere. Not even in my head at all.

Confused, I pressed my hand to the back of my head, feeling for any sign of the injury that had led to my concussion.

Nothing, not even the feeling of wetness.

I rubbed my eyes and got out of the bed, my toes touching the coldness of the hard floor.

"What the fuck actually happened?" I muttered underneath my breath.

I looked around the room, but I once again saw nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever happened before I blacked out, my body felt like it wasn't mine anymore like as if... I didn't have anything inside me at all. I touched my chest out of habit to feel for any signs of a heartbeat, but of course it was still there. Huh, that was really weird. Obviously my skin was still intact, that was good thing. Somehow even my organs did too.

Nothing seemed to have changed at all. Yet, somehow, it didn't explain why my injuries from before were no longer there. In fact, I'm not even sure how long I was even out for. A day or two perhaps, maybe even a week at most? It was hard to tell how long I was even out for, but sooner or later, those troopers were going to come back and give me something to eat. Strange thing was, I didn't feel like eating.

Huh, it was very odd.

I sat down on the bed with my hands on my face.

As difficult as was to imagine, I was well and truly in the Mass Effect universe. But I still had no idea how I even got here in the first place. Miranda said something about surviving what they did to me earlier, but I have absolutely no recollection on what I had even survived. It seemed utterly pointless to try and figure out what she was talking about.

"Pft, women..." I grunted.

I don't know how long I sat there pondering my situation, but the familiar sound of tapping heels and the door unlocking was enough to indicate it had not been for very long. Miranda once again stepped through the door with the troopers on either side of her.

She stared at me, frowning a bit. "You're awake, good," she said. "The doctor said that you would wake up today." She then inclined with her head. The troopers aimed their rifles at me, showing that I had no choice but to follow where she wanted to take me next.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I followed after her.

"We're going to find out whether the test was proven a success," she replied matter-of-factly. She turned and led me down the corridors once again with the troopers behind me, but this time it was in the opposite direction.

"You call that a fucking test?" I growled. "I almost died!"

"A necessary sacrifice for the good of humanity," she replied coolly. "Yet you survived anyway, just like last time."

"What the hell are you on about?" I asked, but I kept on following her. I needed answers. "I don't remember surviving anything! The last thing I remember is being in my bed and then the next thing I'm in your fucking cell. Explain that!"

If she was fazed by my shouting, she didn't even show it. She paused in her walking and glanced over her shoulder, her ice cold eyes seemingly piercing daggers into my soul, and I flinched. Better not mess with her or else risk getting my head blown away by biotics again – I looked behind me at the troopers – or shot in the back.

Miranda continued to look at me for a moment longer before she continued walking. A jab in the back from one the troopers' rifle forced me to walk onward. It seemed like I wasn't going to get any answers, what a bunch of dicks.

She then finally stopped in front of a large door and she pressed a few buttons to open it, yet for some reason it seemed to move in slow motion and I was... able to memorize the code: 1138. Um, better not say anything about that or else I'd look weird. Yet it didn't explain why shit started moving in slow motion for that split second.

The door opened and I followed closely behind Miranda. My jaw dropped in shock at what lay before me.

It was a massive room that seemed to be no more than another prison cell, but what was different about it was that was much larger than the one I'd been in. It was large enough to at least fit a dozen Kodiak shuttles inside as if they were touching each other side by side. At the far end of the room were several doors, each with Greek lettering from the alphabet, starting from alpha and ending at omega. There didn't seem to be any windows, but something told me there were eyes watching me no matter which way I looked. But what shocked me most was the very same doctor who had inflicted pain upon me earlier. He was standing beside what appeared to be... a strange looking suit of armour unlike anything I've seen before.

I was immediately shoved into the room and the troopers stood to one side while Miranda continued to watch me like a hawk. "Welcome to your new home, Connor."

Looks like I have no choice but to march straight into the pits of motherfucking hell.

* * *

 **And there you have it, hope you like it and that Connor comes off as a... good character. Writing male characters isn't exactly my strongest point, but then again, male Transformers are a lot more easier than humans. Fuckberries...**

 **But I absolutely promise I'll get to work on Mass Transitions and Prime Effect (apparently Novo Effectus is a terrible name) as soon as possible. I swear! It's just I had to get this out of my head as soon as possible... bleh. Look at me repeating shit, it's just been a little hard with some family issues, but I've mostly sorted it all out. Mostly.**

 **Hope you've all enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Welcome to Vindicated Masses people!**


	2. Zero Point One

Vindicated Masses

 **This chapter is a bit of a... info kind of thing. It explains the new stuff that Connor gets, including weapons and the armour that which he has seen right now, hence the title of the chapter: Zero Point One. But we're gonna see some tests and see just what was actually done to the poor guy.**

 **So I guess we'll see some action right now, but I hope it proves effective you guys, even if it's bits and pieces.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2:**

 **Zero Point One**

* * *

To describe the armour in front of me, I highly doubt I'd be able to. It was unlike anything I'd seen before, but there were bits and pieces that reminded me of the cyborg body that Raiden had from Metal Gear Rising, or something like that. The armour looked extremely muscular from the male's side, with pieces being separated from each other with a silver line drawn through to show where each of the muscles were, including the six-pack. It was mostly coloured black as though it was designed to hide the user in the shadows. Traces of red ran along the sides of the structure, as though they were trying to mimic the N7 armour belonging to the Alliance. The Cerberus symbol sat square in the middle where the breastbone would be.

I saw no signs of the helmet anywhere, but judging from the bulky parts surrounding the neck structure, it had to be hidden behind it. It was as though the armour was designed to be completely part of the human structure. But exactly how they were planning on doing that, if it were possible, was beyond me.

Movement from the side of my vision came and I realised that Doctor Carrington had been watching me with beady eyes. He grinned in a somewhat good natured manner. "Like what you see?" he asked.

I decided the best course of action was to remain silent, least I get some sort of sickening lecture.

The doctor petted the armour's left shoulder. "This is the Vindicator 0.1," he said. "It's a prototype, but we have all the features available in it before we design the real thing. It's designed to make the ultimate killing machine: light and strong. You, Connor, were selected to become what Cerberus wanted."

My eyebrows knitted into a frown. "So you want me to be your assassin?"

Doctor Carrington's lips curled slightly into a smile. "Something like that," he replied. He then beckoned me to come forward and I complied until I was standing right in front of the armour. "Strip down," he ordered. The slight click of the rifles from the two troopers was enough to convince me I had no other options.

I did as he ordered, first slipping off the cloud white t-shirt and placing it on the table beside the doctor. I glanced at Miranda embarrassingly, my cheeks heating with warmth. Did she really have to be present for all of this? The twitch of her fingers signified that she had to be. I sighed and took off my pants as well, shivering a bit once I was completely naked.

Just as I suspected, there seemed to be no physical changes to what had occurred to me previously. I appeared to still be the same nineteen-year old man. Yet, somehow, I felt like I could take on anyone. I twitched the muscles in my upper arms for bit, trying to feel anything different. Unfortunately, there was nothing, absolutely nothing.

The doctor walked up beside the armour and pressed a single button between the two shoulder blades on the back. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then I heard a quiet humming sound, as though it was awakening for the first time. Then, without warning, the entire suit split into several pieces! I yelped and take a step back in surprise, watching as the pieces of the armour hovered in the air for a moment and then flew straight toward me.

I couldn't move. It was as though some unknown force was binding me to the ground, preventing me from even running. The first piece that connected to me was the back. I hissed in agony when it slapped on. It felt like over a billion microscopic needles were drilling straight into my spine. I fell to my hands and knees, the pain becoming almost as unbearable as last time. I was on the verge of tears, yet, somehow, a part of me refused to show that I was weak in front of the doctor, Miranda, and the troopers.

Everything else that fell into place was less painful than the back plate. They still hurt, but it wasn't as excruciating as the first. I was forced to spread my arms and legs as each piece wrapped around my body and bound itself to my skin. I felt the drilling sensation, but my body seemed to have adapted to the pain and had become... almost unnoticeable, like as if it just brushed against my skin in a caress.

The last thing that came on was the chest piece, and once it too slapped into place, something came from above me and covered up my face. I was able to see via a line shaped visor, followed by a HUD that immediately scanned the room, including the humans as well. I was able to read their vitals, the percentage of their shields, the strength of their armour, the number of shots they had in their weapons before they were due to overheat, and Miranda being labelled as a biotic with the percentage of her barrier strength. My own stats showed up as well, shields, armour, and... biotics?

"Wait a minute," I said, almost jumping at how synthesized my voice sounded, "I have biotics?!"

Doctor Carrington nodded. "The substance I inserted into your body," he explained in a casual manner, "contains nanobots. The nanobots are enhanced with element zero. They allow you to use almost any kind of biotic ability, with the right amount of training, mind you."

I blinked and looked down at my hands. Holy shit... so... I actually have biotics?

This is all a little too much to take in. I have tiny fucking robots deep inside my blood working round the clock by doing a number of things that I had absolutely no clue about. "So, what else can these nanobots do?" I asked.

"Why," Doctor Carrington replied with a snort, "regenerate any injury you get inflicted with of course." He frowned. "You are the most naive person I have ever met. No one ever seems to understand the fact behind science."

I guess that explained why I had not felt any signs of the injury to the back of my head anymore. Yet, I have a feeling that there's a lot more to it than that. "Somehow," I said quietly, "I think there's a lot more to allowing nanobots to heal any injury that I'm given."

The doctor sighed quietly. "Maybe you're not such an idiot after all," he said. "Yes, there is... one side effect to the healing ability: pain. Depending on how serious the injury is to your body, it would be a painful process for the nanobots to get to work on healing the injury."

Once again, I looked down at my hands and then began feeling out the armour. It was hard to get a sense on what it felt like, but I was able to make out that it was not like anything I had touched before. I lowered my hands and turned to the doctor. "Alright then," I said, "tell me about the features."

" _I believe I can answer that question, Mr. Connor."_

This time, for certain, I completely jumped a foot or two in the air.

What the fucking hell?!

I whirled around, trying to find the source of the speaker, but neither the doctor, Miranda nor even the troopers were reacting to the voice that had spoken. "Who's there?" I demanded almost angrily.

" _Please, remain calm, Mr. Connor,"_ the voice insisted. This time, I realised that it sounded completely feminine and synthesized like my voice. _"I wouldn't want to revive you from a heart attack."_

I take a deep breath, having realised that my heart had been pounding ferociously against my chest. When I asked the same question again, the voice answered in a smug tone, _"My name is Athena, I am an artificial intelligence installed in the Vindicator armour, my location is at the base of your skull in a small microchip."_

What the fuck? She was an AI? As in...? Oh my god. At the same time, my brain was processing on how cool it was while my heart was once again hammering at a million miles per second. Wasn't it illegal to even design an AI in this universe? Oh god, I think I'm freaking out because I somehow drowned out the concerned words of Athena as well as Doctor Carrington until I felt a slight shock in the back of my skull and I jumped again.

" _Please, calm down, Mr. Connor,"_ Athena snapped. _"The next time you have another panic attack, the shock will be a lot worse than the last."_

I shook my head to clear the dizziness from my vision. Great, I have a computer embedded in my head with a deadly sense of humour. I turned to face the doctor. "So you put an AI inside the armour?" I asked, trying to hide my anger, but I think a bit dripped off my tongue.

"It was necessary in order to be able to achieve what was required," he replied.

I frowned, my hands balling into fists as my anger began to boil. My visor picked up the quickening heart beat of the doctor, making me realise that he was becoming frightened, but eventually I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself down. Now was not the time to do anything foolish and risk getting killed. I had to focus or else I'd lose control over the nanobots in my bloodstream.

"Alright then," I said and closed my eyes. "Will you care to explain the features to me, Athena?"

" _But of course, Mr. Connor,"_ she replied.

"Just Connor will do please," I hastily told her.

I felt a small tingle at the back of my neck as the AI considered my request. _"My apologies, Connor, this is my first time in dealing with a human outside... Cerberus jurisdiction. But, if that is what you wish to be called, then so be it."_

It seemed like a minute had passed until Athena resumed speaking again. _"The features installed in the Vindicator 0.1 armour are still in prototype stage, but they were made to be so in order to find out whether they are susceptible or not in the final production stages. We will begin from the top starting from the helmet._

" _The helmet is equipped with a HUD – heads up display – that allows you to read your allies vitals, shields, armour, which you have just seen already. You can switch your vision to a number of settings: sonar, thermal, night, and telescopic. As you can see, your HUD shows your own stats as well, going from vitals, percentage of your shields, and the stats of your biotics."_

Well that numbered several things down that I didn't already know, but let's see what else Athena can label off.

" _I am also located at the back of your skull where your helmet inserted me. I have no physical form, but at the simple thought, I can display myself on your omni-tool should you require me to. I can assist you in a number of different ways, from hacking to decrypting and even cyberwarefare should you find yourself under attack."_

I tried to contain my excitement and nervousness, so I did as she suggested and brought up my omni-tool. To my very surprise, a small transparent woman appeared before me. She stood no more than fifteen centimetres and was completely white save for her blue eyes. She was quite slim and had shoulder length hair.

The woman smiled up at me warmly. "We meet face to face, Connor," she said, her voice soothing and kind.

"It's nice to meet you too, Athena," I grinned. I could barely hold in my eagerness to learn more about her.

"Yes, she truly is an amazing creation," Doctor Carrington chuckled. He sounded more like a proud father than a crazy scientist. "The two of you will be working together as long as Connor is inside that armour, which will be for a very long time."

I paused, confusion settling into my brain and then a feeling of panic took over. "Wait, are you saying that... I'm stuck in this armour... forever?!"

Athena's face became sullen. "It was necessary in order to make the armour fully functional," she explained softly. "The armour is fully bound to your nervous system, meaning that it cannot come off. And even if it came off, you could die."

I felt my entire body become numb to the point where I couldn't feel anything. It was as though I had become frozen on the spot, completely deaf and blind to the world around me. I was trapped... trapped forever in this armour, unable to touch or even feel the warmth of a body ever again. Was this... was this how Tali felt when she was in her suit? I almost wanted to burst into tears, but a part of me refrained from showing weakness. I had to be strong. I had to remind myself that it was a necessary sacrifice in order for me to get out of here alive.

"So... I am trapped in this armour for the rest of my life," I muttered underneath my breath. "I might as well make it a good one while it lasts."

Doctor Carrington glanced between myself and then back at Miranda. She shook her head and he shrugged his shoulders before resuming his position, continuing to watch me like a hawk.

"Shall we..." Athena said softly, her voice gentle and a warm current tickled my skull.

"Please continue," I insisted.

Athena nodded and she vanished from my omni-tool and resumed speaking through my helmet. _"The armour is also equipped with the prototype cloaking technology that has been in development by the Alliance for at least two years. Yours was... borrowed from them and made a little better. It is known as the Active Camouflage. It bends the light accordingly to suit the environment and render you almost completely invisible."_

"What do you mean 'almost'?" I asked hesitantly.

" _The cloak has a limited amount of time based on your armour's energy input,"_ Athena answered. I managed to catch a glimpse of a bright green bar on the left side of the HUD just beneath a blue bar for the shields. _"The best we were able to calculate is at least thirteen seconds of use, and eight seconds of recharge. Sudden movements while cloaked from sight will render you detected as your outline is not completely hidden. Even your shadow will be noticeable under light. You can be detected by motion trackers, noise, and environmental disturbances."_

Huh, good to know that at least there is something good about this armour without too many side effects, provided I know how to use it properly. Training shouldn't be too much a problem, as I've spent a majority of my time handling rifles while out hunting for foxes with my dad on our farm.

"Is that all, Athena?" I asked quietly.

" _Yes, Connor, that is all the features I have listed in the armour,"_ she answered. _"You should be ready for the next step in becoming what Cerberus wants you to be."_

I hesitated for a moment. Was Athena really that into Cerberus? She was an artificial intelligence, she should know what they were capable of. The moment I'm alone and not within hearing range of anyone else, I'm going to have a few words to say to her.

"Are you satisfied, Connor?" Doctor Carrington questioned, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I nodded to confirm I had heard him.

"Good, then we can move on to the next step," he said as he walked over to another table, his fingers brushed against its edges for a moment and I took another look at what was on it. There were a variety of weapons lying on its surface and I became completely flabbergasted. These were not just any weapons, they looked like they came from a different universe! "These weapons are all yours," he told me.

I take a step closer to the table, taking it all in. These were all mine? I glanced up at him as he picked up what appeared to be some kind of cylinder like object. He tossed it from one hand to the next, as though he was testing its weight. He nodded once and then threw it in my direction. I barely managed to grab it in my hand.

"What is it?" I asked.

The doctor's cheeks flashed with a smile and he gestured to the cylinder in my hand. "Press the button," he stated simply. "But aim it away from you. Wouldn't want you to burn yourself."

I raised an eyebrow, but did as he ordered. I flipped the switch on the side, only to almost drop the object as a long orange blade shot out from the cylinder. Holy fucking shit! Is this what I think it is?!

"Say hello to the omni-sword," Doctor Carrington chuckled.

An omni-sword way before even the omni-blade is even made? I mean, I'm not sure what year it is yet, but since shit isn't happening, I'm assuming that the Reapers aren't even here yet. But holy...!

I suddenly became aware that my omni-tool was glowing as well, as though it was the one who was putting life into the sword itself.

"Ah, so you noticed," the doctor chuckled, "good, very good. Melee weapons from the omni-tool do exist, we just never had a reason to use them until now. But what you are seeing is something unique. The omni-sword's blade is generated from your omni-tool. Whichever hand you use, your omni-tool will be able to create the blade with ease. The blade is nearly harder than diamond and can slice through almost anything."

I quirked an eyebrow and asked, "What can't it cut through?"

"Why another omni-tool for example," the doctor replied with a simple wave. "Anything else it just cuts through like butter."

This is too fucking cool! I honestly couldn't wait to try it out when I have the chance. I can just imagine myself tearing through my opponents with this baby. Feeling satisfied, I pressed the switch and returned the blade back inside the hilt. I was aware that I had a belt designed to hold my weapons, so I put it on the right side of my hip. No way was I going to lose this at all.

"What else do you have, Doc?" I asked, eyes brightening with excitement.

The doctor grinned and picked up what appeared to be a metal stick that was no more than a foot long. It was jet black and made up of a metal alloy that made it very light. He tossed it over to me and I caught it neatly in one hand – thank god for reflexes. Just like the omni-sword, the stick had some kind of switch on its side and I pressed it, though I made sure to aim it away from me as well.

Two more sticks came out from both ends of the middle, both were two feet longer than the middle, and then another two made it curve backwards. The stick grew thicker around the middle and wire from the top curve latched itself onto the bottom curve.

"A bow?" I asked, confused.

"A compound bow," the doctor corrected, raising a finger. "And it's not just any compound bow. It's made out of aluminium, which doesn't make it light, but quite strong when you strung an arrow." He picked up what appeared to be a black coated arrow with a cylinder on the end. "You'll have three types of arrows at your disposal: biotics and electrical. With the biotic arrows, you can channel your biotics through the bow and into the arrow, allowing you to float your enemies and make them utterly helpless while you finish them off. The electrical arrows, all you have to do is put an Overload into it and it can explode just about anything."

Well thank god I knew how to handle one of these.

I picked up the arrow and placed it into the bow. I carefully pulled on the string as hard as I could, but not too hard least I let the arrow fly or break the bow itself. Judging from this arrow, it was an electrical one. The doctor pressed a random button on the table and a bullseye appeared from out of the floor. I sucked in a deep breath, and carefully aimed the bow where I wanted it to go, all the while I charged an Overload into it. Once it was fully charged, I let go of the string and the arrow flew through the air. It landed dead centre with a loud _thk_.

"I'd say that's a bullseye," Carrington chuckled. He walked over to the target and yanked out the arrow with a swift motion. He returned and placed it back on the table. "The bow is quite silent, almost better than a sniper rifle. With the telescopic vision in your helmet, you should be able to hit your target without any problems."

"I'll take what I can get," I replied, nodding as I returned the bow to its stick form. I placed it in the magnetic clasps on my back.

Much to my surprise, Carrington picked up an assault rifle. However, it was not newly invented like the first two were. In fact, it seemed quite ordinary, like an Avenger assault rifle, only from the first game and it was coloured dark blue and grey.

"This is the Breaker assault rifle," he explained simply. "Only this one is the number seven version. You'll have a total of sixty shots before it eventually overheats, but I reckon you'll know how to handle it. It's a mid-range weapon, but don't even bother trying to snipe someone with it, you'd need a very steady hand to perfect it. Also, need I remind you about the recoil these weapons have?"

How can anyone forget about how lousy these weapons are at long range? I mean, you can try and do it, but like the doc said... you'd need a very steady aim for it. It was best to use them while they're in semi-auto mode rather than full.

The funny thing was... I feel like this weapon is going to need a name. And, as I take the weapon, I know the perfect name for it. I looked up and asked, "Mind if I give this baby a name?"

"It's not uncommon to name a weapon, but of course you may."

I grinned down at the weapon and aimed it directly at the target. I pulled the trigger and unleashed a series of bullets almost dead centre in the middle. Gonna have to work on my aiming a bit. "I'll call this Thanatos," I stated.

"Naming it after the Greek god of death, huh?"

"Yup, it seems efficient," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "Whenever you're looking into the barrel of this weapon, you're staring into death's eyes."

At least with these weapons I'll have more of a chance of getting out of here. I'm still not entirely sure what the doctor did to me with his serum, but with the nanobots flowing through my blood, it might just prove more than useful. The mere thought of using my abilities to kick some serious ass is enough to get my heart pumping with excitement. I just hope it doesn't worry Athena too much.

"Connor, I hope you will pay close attention," the doctor ordered, snapping his fingers in front of my face, "because this last weapon is something we've been working on since we heard about it in the past."

I tilted my head slightly and followed where his hands were as he picked up the last two weapons. I think my heart skipped a beat or two at the sight of what they were. They both had the shape of a revolver, but the colours were completely different. One was blue and purple, the other was red and yellow. I frowned a little, puzzled by the shape of the weapons. Why were they based upon revolvers from back in the 21st century?

"Ah, I see you are puzzled by the weapons," Carrington chuckled. He handed me the red and yellow one. "These are not just ordinary pistols, they are known as hand-cannons. Each one allows you to have at least fifteen shots per round before you have to reload them. However, unlike ordinary pistols, they pack more of a punch than they're worth. A single shot from either one of them is enough to make an ordinary recoil look like child's play."

He picked up the blue and purple one and snapped open its cylinder, showing what kind of bullets I'd be dealing with. "After doing some research in the past," he continued, "I decided that we would make the slugs out of tungsten, making them strong enough to pierce armour without a second thought. We tested them on kinetic shields, and we believe that a single slug can bring it down with ease provided you have the decency to aim your revolver again after the recoil."

I looked up at him. "Um, why did you make two?" I asked.

He threw his head back and laughed. Miranda looked up from her spot, frowning a bit but then she shrugged her shoulders and resumed her stance. Did I say something wrong? What the hell is up this guy?

When he had finished his little chortle, he wiped a tear from his eye. "Why as a spare one, of course," he replied. "You can use them both at the same time if you wanted to, but I highly advise against it. Both hands alone have a hard time handling only one revolver on its own."

Jesus, so I guess having a spare one in case I run out of bullets will come in handy in the future. Still, I doubt the entire galaxy will be making bullets for these little babies, so perhaps I'll have to make my own. Two revolvers, a bow, an assault rifle, and an omni-sword... that's definitely going to make things a little easier, but... I shouldn't be getting too cocky. Shit could go down the drain if I'm not careful.

I take both revolvers and place them both on my hips. I'm not even sure why they are even arming me up already, but I guess something tells me that I'll find out soon enough. I highly doubt they'll let an armoured prisoner walk around freely without some sort of spying going on. I just hope I know what I'm getting myself into. Which reminds me, talk to Athena later when no one is looking.

"Now that we are done arming you up," Doctor Carrington stated as he turned away from me and made his way over to the Omega door, "you will proceed inside and begin the first tests of many."

"Tests of many?" I parroted.

"Miranda will explain once you are both inside," he replied. He motioned to the raven-haired who walked up beside me, ice blue eyes completely focused on both me and the door. I have a funny feeling deep in the pit of my gut.

The doctor opened up the door at the press of a button and we proceed inside. It locked behind us as it turned red and Miranda made her way over to what appeared to be some kind of large training ring. She stepped into the middle and waved me over, her jet black hair waving like a black sea.

"Come on, Connor," she ordered, "let's get started."

I'm in for so much shit right now.

* * *

 **And I guess that concludes that chapter for now. Sorry there wasn't any action planned, but the next chapter will show off just what Connor has gained from the tests alone. But then again, there's a lot more going on than he actually realises and we still have no idea just what kind of shit he's gotten himself into.**

 **Oh if only I can tell you, but alas, I cannot otherwise I'd spoil the whole point of the story.**

 **I just hope that everything is going well because Miranda is a tough cookie to write, and I mean she totally is! She's aloof and cold, but at the same we know that we can trust her. She's just not at that stage to completely start drifting away from Cerberus. Hell, we still not even know what year it is and I'm not telling squat!**

 **See you peeps later!**

 **Let's see if Connor is going to get his ass kicked or not.**


	3. Yet Even More Tests

Vindicated Masses

 **Next chapter came out so soon? I must be on a roll or something? Damn, I need to set myself a record or bleh, dunno really. Anyway, as promised, here is the chapter where we get to see just what exactly Connor can do with his newfound abilities. But of course, you're not professional at it from the beginning. Nope, shit takes time and you'll eventually know what year Connor has been placed in, but that is not going to happen for a little while longer.**

 **I intend to keep the time period setting a secret for a little bit longer, but it will eventually come when its ready. Tehehe, I love keeping stuff to myself.**

 **Onward!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

 **Yet Even More Tests**

* * *

This woman must be fucking serious, I mean... I absolutely have no idea what the hell is going on, but something tells me I'm in for some serious shit right now. Miranda motioned me to come forward again, and I kept on standing there like a statue, gawking at both her and the training arena.

" _Connor, you're panicking again,"_ Athena mumbled in my head, though judging from her tone, she was leaving absolutely no room for argument. I snapped out of my daze and slowly made my way toward the training ring where Miranda was waiting for me.

"Just what the hell are we even doing?" I asked, trying to keep my cool once I was standing in front of her. "I don't even understand what's going on."

Miranda frowned at me like as if I'd done something wrong to piss her off and I flinched underneath her icy stare. She brushed a stray lock of black hair out of her vision and she replied in a calm tone, "We're going to train you."

"Train me?"

She nodded to confirm my words. Why on earth would I need to be trained? I wanted to voice the question, but deep in the pit of my stomach, I knew better than not to or else risk getting shot in the face for my insubordination.

"Yes, we're going to train you in order to make you better than what you already are now," she replied. She turned her head toward the window behind her and I followed her gaze, only to see nothing but empty blackness and distant hot blazing stars. Now I realised where I possibly could be now. I was on a space station somewhere in the Milky Way galaxy. "Out there, Connor, is a very dangerous universe. In order to make you stronger to be able to combat against those that would do you or us harm, you must be trained."

Now it was my turn to frown. "So you really are going to train me to be a killer."

"If that is how you want to put it, then yes," Miranda answered, nodding. She took one step forward. "I'm not the enemy, Connor, you have to believe me. We merely want to make you stronger so that you can be prepared for the worst."

Time to do a little digging I think. "What's worse than pirates, slavers or mercenaries?" I asked.

The raven-haired woman stared at me for a good long moment, remaining completely silent as though to consider answering my question truthfully or not. I thought for certain she'd spaced out completely until she took a deep breath and answered, "The Reapers."

At the mention of the 'R' word, my body became stock still. How did she know about the Reapers? Seriously, what year is it? I asked her the question and Miranda looked reluctant to answer until I pressed her again, finally she gave in. "The year is 2179," she replied.

Holy fucking shit, I'm four years early before the whole galaxy goes into a warzone!

"Are you serious?" I demanded angrily.

"Dead serious," Miranda replied, obviously pretending that my tone had not affected her. "There's a whole reason why you've been given armour, weapons, and an artificial intelligence. They are to help you combat against the Reapers. I know almost everything."

"What do you mean 'almost everything'?"

Miranda's eyes shifted left and right, checking to make sure that no one was in hearing range and she drew even closer to me. "Listen to me carefully, Connor," she hissed. "Cerberus is known for doing crazy things for the good of humanity and normally I do not get involved in a project that does harsh experimenting. However, when I heard about Project Chimera, I knew that it was something different. Doctor Carrington believed that there were millions of multiverses that extend ours."

I paled as she continued, her voice becoming stronger with each word leaving her mouth. "Everyone thought he was crazy when he said he could bring someone from a different universe, even the Illusive Man didn't believe it. But when Doctor Carrington came back with this theory that he could, I decided to get involved to see it for myself. That's when he designed this Interdimensional Transportor device that can transport any person from any dimension and bring them here."

Now shit was starting to make fucking sense! But that still didn't explain how she knew about future events. "Did you by some chance read my mind?" I asked carefully.

"In a way," Miranda replied mysteriously. "Fortunately, I'm the only one who knows what you know."

"But how are you the only one?" I asked, though judging from the tingling in the back of my head, Athena was sensing my uneasiness. "How do I know I can trust you?"

She took a deep breath. "I saw the future of Cerberus," she explained, "I saw what would become of us, what the Illusive Man would do to get what he wanted. To see Cerberus brought down to its knees... it's hard to believe, but you played the game... you saw the Illusive Man die over and over again the more you played it, the things we had to do for the good of humanity when he keeps on claiming that Cerberus _is_ humanity." Her brow furrowed. "I do not want that future for Cerberus. It needs to be better than what it is now."

What was I to do? I know that in the second game Miranda can be brought around when she sees the extreme views of the Illusive Man. But by then, she became one of Shepard's most trusted allies, and eventually lover if a male Shepard chose to romance her. That is if Shepard here is currently male.

" _I suggest that you do trust her, Connor,"_ Athena whispered in my head. _"She shared everything with me and I know what awaits us in the future. Please..."_

I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. What choice did I even have? If Doctor Carrington didn't know about the Reapers and only Miranda and Athena did, then that meant it was all true. It was all true and I had absolutely no choice but to trust their word on it.

I nodded. "Alright then," I sighed. "What do we have to do?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on Miranda's lips, satisfied that I was willing to risk everything in order to trust her. She gestured to the ring that we were still currently standing in. "First, we have to get you trained up," she explained. "In the meantime, you're to continue to act like you're a prisoner and pretend that we didn't have this conversation at all. The only time we're allowed to talk is when I'm training you." She stared at me intensively. "Do you understand?"

I tightened my jaw. I guess this is where things are going to have to keep on going. Outside the training, Miranda and I are not to speak to one another and I'm supposed to follow along and act like nothing has occurred between us. For once I'm glad that I'm not alone in what I'm doing, yet, somehow, I'm supposed to change the future for Cerberus, but there was no telling what could happen if shit goes down the drain. I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

"Understood," I replied quietly.

"Then let's get started," Miranda said, satisfied. "I'd like to see for myself how your hand-to-hand combat skills are, and then we can gradually build it up."

Fortunately for Miranda that wasn't exactly a problem. I had learned a trick or two back at home. All I knew was the basics, but that was as far as I got.

I nodded and brought both my arms up in front of my face, keeping my shoulders square, and my eyes focused directly on Miranda, watching her body for any sign of an opening. To my surprise, she just stood there, looking quite bored and leaning on one hip. I lifted an eyebrow quizzically. "Is something the matter?" I asked, trying to hide the confusion in my voice.

"Absolutely nothing," Miranda replied with a faint smile. "Just analysing what I'm seeing. Your posture looks good, but your back appears to be stiff. Try to loosen up your muscles, relax."

She was right, I hadn't realised my muscles had been tense until she pointed it out. I did as she ordered, taking a deep breath and relaxing every fibre in my shoulders and back. Her lip curled slightly as a sign that she was satisfied with what she was seeing. She too got into a fighting stance and we started to circle each other.

Unfortunately, I underestimated just how fast she'd be because she suddenly wasn't there and ended up closing the distance between us in a split second. The next minute I found myself feeling a jab of pain in my stomach and staring up at the ceiling in the most humiliating position I'd ever been in.

A slight chuckle caused me to turn my head and I saw Miranda looking down on me with an amused expression. "You were not ready," she smirked.

I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. "Fuck, I knew you were fast, Miranda," I stated, "but I didn't think you were _that_ fast."

"As you are aware, Connor," Miranda replied as I picked myself up off the ground with a grunt, "I was designed genetically to be perfect. I'm faster, stronger, and more agile than an average human. You shouldn't be surprised that I'm physically better than you."

"The games didn't exactly show it very well," I sighed as I cracked my neck and shoulders. Shit, Miranda wasn't exactly kidding when she said she was better than me. The games certainly did hold her back a lot when it came to really showing it. All she did was boast that she was better than normal humans, but her biotics when it came to the suicide mission rendered her pretty much pathetic compared to Jack and Samara. Still, note to self, Connor: be more careful.

"Let's try again, Connor," Mirada insisted.

I nodded and we resumed the training. This time, though, I was ready, but Miranda was still faster than me. She came at me like a white bullet, fast and deadly. I barely had time to use my right forearm to block an incoming kick and shoving a fist into her chest, but she ducked under it and followed with a mean right hook that connected with my face, breaking my lip and sending blood trickling down my chin.

" _Focus Connor,"_ Athena chided as the nanobots worked on healing the little injury and stopping the blood from leaking any further, but I ignored her.

I spat a glob of blood from my mouth just as Miranda aimed a kick at my side, I reacted quickly by twisting my body slightly and wrapped my arm around it, holding it in a firm grip. I threw a balled fist at her face, but she angled her head out of the way while using her free leg to send me toppling to the ground. I used whatever strength I had to wrestle myself free and rolled aside. I got back to my feet just as Miranda did too.

"Not a bad reaction speed," she nodded, circling around me again and brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. "However, the power in your punches needs a little work."

"Tell me something I don't know," I huffed impatiently.

Miranda shrugged as I lunged forward with the intention of aiming for her face again. She seemed to sense my error and she took a neat step to the side and I flew right past her. She sent a knee to my abdominal region and I gasped in surprise and pain. Fuck, she wasn't really kidding when she said she was stronger than an average human. I attempted to shake off my misfortune, only to see her fist come straight for my face and I ducked right underneath it, rolling away from her until I was just centimetres from the edge of the ring.

"You cannot keep up defensive play forever, Connor," Miranda frowned. "You've got to go on the attack sooner or later."

She wanted me to go on the attack? Well I'll show her! I lunged forward again, but kept my face a little calmer than usual and trying to hide where I was going to strike next. She seemed to frown as I came within striking distance, and this time I threw an uppercut to her chin and she took the blow, her head sailing backward. Unfortunately, I barely managed to catch a glimpse of a smirk forming on her lips.

Oh shit!

Before I had time to react or before Athena could warn me, Miranda's left fist curled up together and she threw a powerful punch directly into my stomach. I coughed and gagged as I realised what had happened. Miranda had faked being hit to allow herself time to line up an offensive. I quickly recovered and wrapped my arms around her waist, intending to lift her up off the ground. She reacted even better than I imagined as she put both her arms underneath my armpits and used her weight to flip me over and I landed painfully on my back, all air leaving my lungs.

I struggled to get back up, but Miranda was upon me before I could do anything despite Athena's warnings. The woman grabbed my right arm in a lock behind my head and started to twist very painfully to the point I wanted to scream! I struggle pathetically against her grip, trying desperately to get out of my situation. Even though Miranda had said the armour was designed make me physically stronger, I still had no experience in how to use it to get out of Miranda's tight hold on me. No matter how much I struggled, she only seemed to twist a little harder to the point where I thought it was going to pop out of the socket.

"Do you yield?" Miranda asked. "If you do, tap the mat."

If I gave up now, it would all be for nothing, there was no way I was going to give up just like that. But the more I struggled, the more Miranda twisted my arm. I did the only thing that any man would've done: I frantically tapped the mat and Miranda released her hold on me. I just lay there on the floor, breathing heavily to get in as much of the precious oxygen that I could get into my lungs. I flexed my arm to make sure that it wasn't damaged, but thankfully it wasn't. I rolled on my back, only to see Miranda smiling sweetly down on me.

"I'm not surprised that you decided to give up," she said, though she didn't sound disappointed or angry. "Any man or woman would've known when to have the decency to yield." She offered her hand out to me and I gratefully took it. She pulled me back onto my feet, her ice blue eyes seemed to shine with small amusement.

"How do you think I went?" I asked, trying to hide the hurt by the fact that I'd been beaten by a woman.

"Surprisingly quite well," Miranda replied. "From what I'd seen, you seemed to know what you were doing, but you let my goading get the better of you, thus you became sloppy in fighting. But now that I know what you can do, we'll begin proper lessons later on."

"Alright, I guess I can accept a few tips from an expert like you," I teased with a grin and clasped my hands together. "What's next on the list?"

"Our next test will be your biotics," Miranda answered. "The nanobots in your body were exposed to eezo, which now allows you to use biotics naturally. However, we need to see just how strong these biotics really are." She gestured to the door on the left side of the room, something that I'd failed to notice until she had pointed it out. "Follow me."

I did so without further questioning, following her to the door and to the next room. I knew that deep down I'm supposed to trust her because she claimed she wanted a better future for Cerberus and was well aware of the Reapers coming. The words of Athena was confirmation that I needed to trust them... I don't really know. I'm four years early before Eden Prime is due to be attacked by Saren and the geth, Yet I cannot help but feel that something was amiss, why did I keep on feeling a nagging sensation at the back of my head? And no, I'm not talking about feeling Athena there. I feel like I'm supposed to... make a break for it.

'Not now, Connor,' my inner self told me. 'It's not time. You'll know when the moment is right.'

Maybe it was best to trust my instincts and heed its advice: wait it out until I've learned what I can.

We passed into the next room (Psi) and, not to my surprise, it was a lot different from the other one. Instead of being a training ring, there were a number of targets stretching all the way to the back of the room. What kind of a room was this?

I hadn't realised I'd zoned out until Miranda cleared her throat and I trotted toward her. She quirked an eyebrow at me as I drew closer, but she said nothing. She then gestured to the targets and then back at me. "I'm going to teach you how to channel your biotics," she explained. "Once you've worked it out, you'll be tasked to hit as many of the targets as you can."

I raised a finger to interrupt. "Won't I be exhausted from the experience?" I asked.

Miranda nodded. "You'll be exhausted at first, but I have a few supplements that will help replenish your strength should you require them. I won't push you to the point of death, you're far too important to us, well... to me actually. Afterwards, we'll work on your endurance so that you can last longer in case a fire fight drags on for a long period of time."

I drew in a deep breath to try and contain my annoyance. Everything Miranda was doing to teach me, hand-to-hand combat, biotic training, weapons training... what else was she going to do that would no doubt result in me being utterly humiliated? Who was to say I wasn't going to get my ass kicked by an insane asari Matriarch and not survive to tell the tale?

I cannot help but feel the lingers of doubt in the back of my mind and Athena seemed to sense it because I once again felt the warm prickles of comfort coming from the back of my neck where her chip resided. Somehow, I felt inclined to respond in kind by brushing my fingertips against the chip, no doubt surprising her, but she didn't say anything. Maybe she was puzzled by my action? Too bad I'm not a mind reader. Wish I was though.

"Alright, let's get started," I sighed.

Miranda seemed to sense my unease and she gently touched my shoulder. "I know you doubt me, Connor," she said, "and I'm not asking you to trust me straight away. Everything I've told you is the truth, but you just need time to process it all. You need to be trained in order for you to be fully in synch with your armour and Athena. Please, Connor, I know you can do it."

Her words chased away the remaining traces of concern and unease. It was true that all of this was too much to process into my brain. Maybe with time I'll eventually get used to the idea that I was no longer back in my world and living the good life. No, I was well and truly living in the reality that I was in the Mass Effect universe, and here... I would be staying for the rest of my life.

"Alright," I said quietly. "I trust you, Miranda. I trust that you know what you're doing."

"Believe me, Connor," she said calmly. "I actually do."

"Then let's get started on the biotics training," I insisted.

She nodded and took a step back to give me some room. "The key to using your biotics," she explained, "is focus. It takes a great deal of focus to even form what you want. Any break in concentration would result in a failure of performance. In order to focus, you need to find a key-thought that would create what you want."

She lifted a palm to give me an example. "My key-thought to forming a warp is the image of lightning." She closed her eyes for a moment, and I caught the glimpse of the swirling dark matter forming around her body. "Now push the energy into your palm and it will form into a ball." With a simple thought, the energy drew into her hand until it began to form into a bright purple and black ball of crackling mass effect energy!

She held the ball for a few seconds, letting me stare at it long enough for me to get the general idea on what I needed to do. Once done, she then twisted her hand slightly and threw the warp at one of the targets, shattering it to pieces with ease.

I nodded with admiration.

"Now you try," she ordered. "Only this time, you'll concentrate on forming a barrier. The difference is that you are to think of what would protect you from harm. Then you form the energy like I showed you, but you will disperse it around your body."

I took a deep breath, relaxing every fibre of my being and letting go of every negative thought I could think of. I couldn't afford to let fears and doubts cloud my concentration, not while everything was riding on this very moment.

Like Miranda said, I had to think of a key-thought, something that would eventually trigger my barriers into protecting me. The only thing that came to mind... was the honeycomb shields from the Halo games. Hmm, maybe that could work? I latched onto the image and then slowly drew the dark matter from deep within my being. I felt my fingers twitch as the energy curled around them, and at the same time I felt nervousness creeping into the pit of my brain, but I abandoned the thought and mentally pushed. I felt myself becoming weak from the energy drain and I swayed a little, but I kept myself from falling.

"Well done," came Miranda's voice and I opened my eyes in surprise. "You've succeeded in creating your first barrier.

"Um... how do I know it actually worked?" I hesitantly asked.

"Allow me to show you," Miranda replied and, with a quick motion, she whipped out her pistol and pulled the trigger. I yelped with surprise and half expected the bullet to hit me dead centre in the chest, but I felt no pain except for another drop in energy and I staggered a little from the unexpected drain.

I shook my head to clear the dizziness and raised a finger at the ice queen bitch. "You shot me!" I exclaimed.

"And yet you were not injured," Miranda chuckled, putting the pistol back in its holster. "I'd say that's a plus."

I felt a hot tingle at the back of my neck and I instantly placed my fingers around it, trying to understand why it was warming up so quickly. Then I heard laughter in my head. Athena was laughing at me?! "Hey, it's not funny!" I spat angrily. "I could've died!"

" _I'm sorry, Connor, but it was amusing to see your reaction,"_ Athena replied, trying to contain her laughter, but she was failing miserably. _"I knew that your barrier would work, hence why I was not worried."_

'You transparent bitch,' I thought to her angrily, but all I got in response was more laughter. She obviously knew I didn't mean any of those words, but I was still annoyed. I sighed and shook my head in disbelief, but then something plastic hit me dead in the face and fell into my open hands. "What the hell, woman?"

"An energy bar," Miranda replied with a snort. "Eat it and it will bring your strength back up."

I shrugged and bit into the blueberry coloured bar, yet strangely it didn't taste like what I expected it to, more like kiwi fruit and bananas mixed together. I chewed for a little, savouring the taste while I could and then swallowing. Huh, it actually tasted pretty good! I eventually downed it in another two more bites. To my surprise, I felt warmth spreading through my arms and legs and I felt like I could suddenly take on the whole world!

"Asari produced energy bar," Miranda explained as though she had read my questioning thoughts. "It's designed to help replenish energy after using biotics."

Makes sense considering how the asari were biotic killing machines. They'd need some kind of food to help build their energy back up after a hard round.

"Now that you know the basics," Miranda said, "we're going to start hitting some targets using warp. Think of a key-thought for your warp and then, when you're ready, start hitting as many targets as you can until you cannot do it anymore."

I did as she asked and thought of the perfect key-thought for my warp: ki blast. Once I had that labelled down and I had gathered the energy that I needed to form my warp – the energy slowly sapping from my strength – I threw the ball at the targets, only to miss on the first try. Miranda shook her head ordered me to do it again. The second try was just as bad, but with the assistance of my telescopic vision, I was able to hit the target and it blasted to smithereens.

"Third time's the charm," Miranda chuckled, but then her pale white face turned dead serious. She barked, "Again."

It was like that for the next hour. I sent warp after fucking warp, each hit almost better than the last. Sometimes I missed, other times were dead centre. Miranda had insisted that I not use my zooming in techniques, making it even more of a challenge. But with each successful hit, I found myself becoming more and more confident in my new abilities. Miranda wasn't kidding when she said that I had more natural biotics like the asari because I didn't seem to suffer from any headaches, but I still bled from the nose whenever I overexerted myself.

But the longer I went on, the more exhausted I became and I knew that I was going to have to call it quits and take a break. Even Athena's warnings to pushing myself too hard were enough to convince me that I had done enough for one day. Miranda seemed to agree and she signalled for me to stop.

I lowered my hands and fell on my back on the floor, breathing quite heavily.

I felt something land on my chest and I looked down to see three asari energy bars glinting joyously in the light. I sat up and immediately dug into them. I had to take the edge off my hunger as well as get my juice back up to speed. Even though it wasn't very filling, it was enough for me to get back on my feet.

"I think we're done with target practise for the day," Miranda said, nodding approvingly. "Let's take a lunch break."

"I can't say no to that," I admitted as my stomach growled loudly enough for even Miranda to hear. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but Miranda seemed to keep herself from laughing. She turned and led the way out the door and back over to the lab where we'd been previously before all of this started. There was no sign of Doctor Carrington anywhere.

Miranda walked over to a small screen in the wall and pressed a button. A few seconds later and a young woman picked up the receiver. She seemed to be in her early twenties with fairly light brown skin, youthful green eyes and black shoulder length hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore a Cerberus crew uniform with an apron tied around her waist. Her eyes widened with surprise when she saw Miranda, but quickly returned it to an impassive expression.

"Yes, Miranda, what can I get you?" she asked.

"Afternoon, Chloe," Miranda greeted. "Think you can scrounge me and the prisoner some food made for biotics."

I noticed she'd called me a 'prisoner', but I'm guessing that she was trying to maintain her cover to avoid any suspicion. If they noticed that she was helping me, she'd no doubt be executed right on the spot... no doubt by the Illusive Man himself. Then he'd bring her back to life and shoot her in the head again! I shivered at the very thought but refrain from saying anything, only for Athena to gently warm me to give me reassurance that it would never happen provided that Miranda kept up the act.

I'd been so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't hear two bangs until Miranda tapped me on the arm to let me know that lunch was served. I blinked and realised that Chloe had sent down a tray of food wrapped in some kind of plastic covering. It was not like any kind of dish I'd seen before, but I suppose it was better than nothing.

I picked up the tray and followed Miranda to a table where we could eat together. The food tasted quite different than what I was used to, though it made me wonder whether it was an asari meal or a dish that was newly invented by humans. Still, it tasted quite nice and it filled my growling stomach to satisfactory full. Miranda and I didn't talk while we ate, probably so that Miranda could keep up her cover.

At least Athena was a decent conversationalist.

'Athena, you never told me much about yourself,' I mentally said to her.

" _There isn't much to tell that you do not already know,"_ she replied, though I swore there was a hint of a smile in her voice. _"As far as I'm aware, I am nothing special. My job though is really quite simple: keeping you alive."_

'So if I die, you cease to function?' I asked.

" _Correct,"_ she answered simply.

Huh, the poor thing had absolutely no hobbies except to keep me alive, provide me guidance, and do whatever I tell her to. I made the suggestion about her needing to get a hobby, but she merely brushed it off. She had no sense of humour like EDI? Damn, she really does need something to do other than keep me alive and shit.

" _Connor,"_ Athena whispered and her voice was gentle and motherly, _"I assure you, you do not need to worry about me. As long as you are alive, nothing else makes me happy."_

'At least just think about it,' I said. 'Sitting here in my brain doing nothing isn't healthy.'

" _True,"_ Athena replied. Judging from the silence she was giving she was thinking carefully on my suggestion. _"Very well, perhaps I can be of better use to you by offering to be an encyclopaedia or perhaps I can do some research and come up with tactical advice against enemies that you face?"_

Huh, that actually could come in handy. Should I come across a difficult situation with an enemy, Athena could provide me with tactical assistance and expose vulnerabilities in both species and their armour, hell perhaps even environmental suggestions. 'Hey, why the hell not,' I smiled. 'That could actually help me in the future.'

" _You're welcome,"_ Athena said kindly.

"Alright, Connor," Miranda said, diverting my attention over to her. "It's time we got back into it."

I mock saluted her, much to her chagrin, but she seemed to dismiss it. "Yes, ma'am," I responded.

We put our trays in the bin for someone to come and collect later and we walked into the next room: Chi. Again, another letter from the Greek alphabet. Now I'm beginning to realise that we were steadily working our way all the way to Alpha, though I suspect that I wouldn't get to the final one until much later in time.

"Miranda," I said once we were inside and out of earshot, "forgive me for asking, but what's with the Greek letters and why are we working our way to the top?"

The raven-haired woman turned to face me, her ice blue eyes staring at me a little coldly for a brief moment before she relaxed her stance. "I suppose there is no harm in answering," she sighed. "Each room signifies your training. What we're going through are tests to see whether the experiment was successful or not. The last letters at the top – Epsilon, Delta, Gamma, Beta and Alpha – will not be done until we know for certain you are well and fully trained. Once we've gone through the test, we will continue onward in your training. How long it would take, I have no idea. It would be up to you whether you prove to be an asset or a liability. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

"Good, now, let us resume the tests," she said, getting back to business.

We spent the majority of the next test going through more biotic training, only this time it was for hand-to-hand combat usage and by the time the session was over, I was beyond exhausted to the point of collapsing and I was bloody fucking sore. According to Miranda I was a fast learner and I had been determined to not let her down.

Biotic martial arts were a lot more different compared to the usual hand-to-hand combat that I was used to. Unsurprisingly, the asari had come up with it because of how natural it had seemed to them. All Commandos went through it in order to become masters at it, centuries of practise made them well and truly dangerous adversaries to cross paths with.

In the end, after at least two hours and after going through at least five asari energy bars, Miranda decided it was time to call it a day.

"You've done very well," she said as I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my forearm. "Unfortunately, we're going to leave the tests at that for tomorrow. You'll be escorted back to your prison cell to rest. Dinner and extra supplements will be delivered to you."

"Thanks, Miranda," I smiled and bowed to her respectfully. If she was surprised by my gesture, she didn't show it, but she bowed back nonetheless. She then turned and pressed a button on her collar to call for my escort to come and collect me.

They arrived shortly afterward and we walked back to my cell. They seemed to be taking extra precautions with me now because they didn't just lock the door, but they took away my weapons as well and put some kind of beehive energy wall that would give me a powerful electric shock that was strong enough to knock me unconscious.

Fortunately for them, I wasn't in the mood to escape yet. I was determined to learn all I could before breaking out was even considered an option. And when dinner was slid through the rectangle shaped hole on the right side of the door, I made up my mind to continue to bide my time. I couldn't exactly share my idea to Athena yet. No doubt she'd advise me to stay and to trust Miranda. But the longer I stayed her, the less of a chance I had of surviving here.

For now, all I could do was play along a little while longer and hope for the best.

* * *

 **And I guess that wraps up another mighty fine chapter of** **Vindicated Masses** **! Weeeee! I'm so happy because the longer this chapter went, the more worried I was becoming because I didn't want to go through too much in just a single hit.**

 **The next chapter, we're going to see what else Connor is capable of, and after that... the plot seriously kicks in. I'm sorry that this start is very slow and I do not want to overdo it, but if you think I am, please just let me know and I'll ease up a bit. I like getting helpful advice.**

 **Thank you in advance for taking the time to reading my story! You people are awesome!**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	4. It's Either Do, Or Die

Vindicated Masses

 **Long awaited chapter of Vindicated Masses has arrived! So we get some more view into what Connor is capable of, but not in a way that you're expecting. Hah! Not gonna tell, just read the damn thing already!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:**

 **It's Either Do, Or Die  
**

* * *

" _Connor, wake up!"_

My eyes shot open at the sound of Athena's concerned voice and I sat up with a start. Subconsciously I reached for a weapon, only to find none and I remembered that the Cerberus troopers had taken them away to prevent me from escaping. The next thing I knew, two pairs of strong arms lifted me up off the bed and began dragging me out of the cell.

"Hey, what's going on?!" I demanded groggily, but my words fell on deaf ears. I was still trying to get over the exhaustion in my brain and the soreness in my body. I soon came to a realisation that I was being taken by not Cerberus troopers, but Centurions! "Where are you taking me? Let go you bastards!"

Even though I was said to be stronger than a normal human now, I didn't bother to fight back. If I so much as even lifted a finger against them, they'd shoot me without a moment's hesitation, even if I had been experimented upon to be used by them. But whatever was happening, somehow I doubt Miranda was involved. Someone else was! I was once again tempted to fight back, but I kept my impulsiveness in check.

'Athena, do you know what's going?' I asked. I couldn't exactly risk them overhearing me making conversation with her.

" _I do not know,"_ she replied. Judging from her tone, she was being honest and was just as clueless as myself.

The Centurions continued to drag me down the corridors, but instead of heading in the usual direction where I was to be trained by Miranda, it was completely different. Eventually I managed to awaken more from my sleep and come to my senses. My HUD was coming up with the strength of the shields the Centurions had, including the weapons they had at their disposal: M-96 Mattocks, grenades, and electrified batons. There was nothing else out of the ordinary that the games were always happy to point out.

Still, it was best to remain completely cautious in order to avoid attention. No use making a scene that would get every Cerberus member on the station chasing me around and not having any weapons to protect myself other than my biotics.

We kept on going down the corridors, making a few left and right turns until we came to a door. Well doors are obviously good for something! Duh!

The lead Centurion slapped his fist against a button to open the door and I was dragged inside, only to find myself encased in darkness. The darkness didn't last long as my visor automatically switched on to night vision, granting me the chance to see that I was in another large room, perhaps much bigger than the training rooms I'd been in with Miranda. There didn't seem to be anything different about this one other than the door on the opposite side and a variety of windows all around.

The two Centurions shoved me on the ground and I managed to get back up on my feet, only to suddenly pause when the Centurions left and something rose out of the floor: a large metal slab of some kind with all my weapons stacked closely together.

'Athena?' I asked my AI companion. 'Still don't know what's going on?'

" _Confirmed,"_ Athena replied quietly. _"I was not aware that Cerberus had rooms like this. Whatever it's for, it cannot be good for the both of us. My scans indicate we are in a very large room with the only exit behind us, but it's tightly locked. Other than that, I cannot pick up anything else other than you."_

Suddenly the entire room lit up like a fucking Christmas tree and I was immediately blinded by the night vision forcing my eyes to shut until they settled down to normal. I blinked several times and shook my head, only to jerk my head upward as my proximity sensors spiked.

To my surprise, Miranda was standing before me at the far end of the room.

"Miranda?" I questioned. "What are you doing here?"

The raven-haired Ice Queen stared at me for a moment and she pointed a finger at the metal slab that contained my weapons. "Pick your weapons up," she ordered coldly.

I blinked again. "But…"

"Now," she hissed. To prove her point, her left hand reached for her Predator pistol and her right glowed with biotic power. "I'm not going to ask you again," she continued, her voice continuing to drip with coldness. "Pick up your weapons."

Feeling even more confused, I did as she ordered. I took my omni-sword, hand-cannons, Thanatos, and my bow, strapping them to their respective slots and the metal slab returned to the floor. I looked into the eyes of Miranda, gone was the friendliness she had used with me yesterday, replaced by the cold ice in her fierce blue eyes.

My HUD picked up the growing power in her biotics and I bunched my arms and legs together in preparation for a fight. I'd only been training for a day and yet I suddenly felt stronger. The nanobots in my blood must be really screaming for a fight!

To my and Athena's surprise, the entire room started to shift and small man-sized pillars came out of the floor, hiding Miranda from my view. 'Now are you sure you do not know what is going on?' I asked.

" _I wish I knew, Connor,"_ came Athena's soft reply.

"This is another training session," came Miranda's voice from afar, still as cold as ever. "We're not just testing how well you'd do in a firefight, but to see what you're capable of in using your weapons. You already know how to use the bow, but how well will you do with your other weapons?"

"Alright, what's going on and why are you being a bitch?" I asked as I pulled out Thanatos and carefully began to walk through the maze of pillars, sensors on high alert for anything out of the ordinary.

"Doctor Carrington is watching along with some of the other members of the project," Miranda replied.

Shit, that explained why she was acting like her pre-Loyalty self. She was putting on an act in order to avoid attention and to prevent me from getting into trouble. I might as well put on a show for the good doctor and hopefully impress some of the superiors.

"Who will I be facing in this maze?" I asked.

" _Proximity alert!"_ Athena cried.

I jumped back with surprise when a flash of black and silver shot right past and straight in front of me. The mechanical body of the Rampart mech swivelled around and aimed its shotgun and fired a single shot that knocked my shields down to fifty percent. I reacted quickly by pulling the trigger on Thanatos and blue bullets punched directly into its thickly armoured chest. It screeched in shock and rolled aside, Katana still in hand, but its left arm began to glow orange from its omni-blade.

Holy shit! Does it really intend to kill me? What kind of sadistic retard does this to their own experiments?!

I barely had time to bring out my omni-sword from my belt in time to block the incoming blow that sent sparks flying. The mech hissed something unintelligible and I pushed into the attack, putting more force into it and causing it to take a step back. Grunting with effort, I raised a foot and kicked the mech in the chest, gaining some distance between us.

I pressed a button on my omni-tool and Athena's feminine voice echoed in my head, _"Engaging Active Camouflage."_

I mentally counted down the time and silently stepped around the shocked mech. It swivelled its head left and right in its attempt to locate me. I wasn't sure whether it had proximity sensors or not, but I wasn't going to risk sneaking from the front. No, the best offense was to take it by surprise. And while I was in cloak mode, my shields would not be able to recharge and I was at my most vulnerable.

I climbed up on top of the pillar, pushing myself with little effort. If it did have proximity sensors, they'd only activate if I was on the ground. My HUD showed the green bar for my cloak was just reaching the half time. I had to make this count. Once I was on top, I peered down slowly and spotted the mech still hunting for me, a red beam of light scanning wherever it turned its head.

'Athena, is it possible to hack it?' I asked my AI companion.

" _You could,"_ Athena replied. _"But I wouldn't advise it. If you did, the mech would automatically rewrite its systems and fight back against the hack. My best advice would be to immediately kill it before it locates your position."_

'Understood.'

I took a deep breath and pulled my omni-sword from my belt again, frowning as the mech walked closer to my hidden position. I watched it closely, bracing my body for a chance to get involved in a fight.

" _Now!"_ Athena yelled.

I uncloaked and launched myself into the air, omni-sword raised. The mech quickly sensed my descent and turned to counterattack, Katana shotgun raised to blast me out of the air. Something clicked and I suddenly shot forward at blinding speed, surprising the emotionless robot. I slammed down on top of it and crushed it beneath my feet with a sickening crunch (if it had bones at least). I stabbed the sword directly into its chest and twisted downward. It screeched pathetically and flailed about like a dying animal until its four red eyes dimmed into darkness and it stilled.

" _Incoming six o'clock!"_

Trusting Athena's command, I rolled forward in time just as the ground behind me exploded into a series of metal and debris. I quickly got back to my feet, drawing my bow and nocking an electrical arrow, only to pause when my HUD came up with absolutely nothing that posed a threat to my survival.

'Athena?' I asked. 'Picking up anything?'

" _Nothing,"_ came the reply. _"It's as if this attacker has the ability to hide their heat signature. Be careful, Connor, it could be anywhere."_

Looks like I had to rely on nothing but my own useless eyes, everything else was beyond my normal capability. Keeping my bow drawn, I stalked the area, eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. According to Doctor Carrington, I was the only one here on this base with cloaking tech embedded in my suit of armour, but then again, he might've lied in order for me to prepare for this upcoming fight.

But in this universe, anything was possible.

I checked the corner of a pillar, but spotted nothing. I felt my body become tense with nervousness and my heart began to pound against my ribcage, threatening to burst out like a chestburster. With each step I took, I only became even more nervous and it only took the calm, soothing voice of Athena to help me relax.

Something solid connected with my helmet and I was sent hurtling backwards! My bow flew from my hands and I landed painfully on my back, knocking the wind right out of me.

"What the fuck?!" I shouted, sitting up and reaching for my bow, only for it to be kicked out of my reach and another solid object connected with my face again. "Come out! You can't hide forever!"

" _No, but you will be dead by then,"_ came the emotionless, synthetic response.

The distorted form of a humanoid from above my swimming head gave me the clue that I needed in order to get away. I rolled away just as a foot slammed down from where my head had been. "Athena, lock onto the distortion!" I ordered.

" _Affirmative, locking onto distortion and transmitting to HUD,"_ Athena replied.

It took less than a second, but eventually I was able to see a little better of the figure, but there was still no sign of any heat signature showing up. It had to be using some kind of heat cloak that prevented its heat signature from showing up, but shields still showed up on my field of view and I was able to make out that the figure was another mech, but it was something different, not like anything I'd seen before obviously.

The mech suddenly uncloaked and turned to face me, my eyes widening in horror at the sight of it. It wasn't a Rampart mech or like the clumsy LOKI type, it wasn't even human looking at all! It looked like a cross between a krogan and a turian. It had the hulking body of a krogan, the crest of a turian and mandibles too, but it was most definitely a robot because of the all the metal plating covering its chassis.

"I'm in some serious shit right now," I muttered underneath my breath.

Whether the mechanical krogan had emotion or not, it still acted like one because it let off a synthesised roar and charged right at me. I let off a yelp of surprise and hurled myself to the side while the mech crashed into a nearby pillar and smashed it to pieces like as if it was nothing.

With its back turned, I whipped out the blue and purple hand-cannon and aimed it at the back of its head. I carefully pulled the trigger and the recoil nearly sent it flying out of my hands were it not for the fact that I had superior strength flowing through my blood. The bullet pierced the robot's head and it paused, appearing to be puzzled for a moment as it turned to face me. The bullet had gone straight through its skull and out of its left eye.

And yet, somehow, it didn't seem fazed at all.

I still do not know whether the robot was capable of feeling, but if it didn't, it certainly showed that it was pissed. It let off a loud, robotic roar and charged straight for me again. I pulled the trigger again and again, but they simply bounced off its armour like as if it was nothing and I soon realised it was almost immune to fucking bullets!

I barely managed to roll to one side in time as it charged past, but it quickly turned on its heels and lashed out with one hand, wrapping its metallic fingers around my neck and lifted me up off the ground. The robot held me at arm's length and started to squeeze my throat. Oh my god, I'm gonna die at the hands of a fucking krogan ripoff?! Fuck, shit, fuck!

" _Connor, I've finished scanning the mech, it's immune to bullets,"_ Athena cried.

'Don't you think I already know that?' I snapped. Despite me being choked to death, I could barely even think in sending my thoughts to her.

" _There's more,"_ she continued, seemingly ignoring my grouchiness, _"it's not immune to biotics. It's armour is designed to withstand mass effect bullets, but it can't stand dark matter."_

'What?' Oh shit, why didn't I fucking think of that before? And I fucking forgot that I had biotics in the fucking first place!

The mech was still choking me and I was finding it difficult to focus at all, but the words of Miranda flowed through my brain at an alarming rate. The key was focus on my key-word. That was all I had to do, focus on what I had within me. I mentally pictured the ki blast from my favourite anime, and I suddenly felt the dark energy flow through my skin and I spread my arms wide, causing the mech to pause in his grasp.

I gathered the energy into my left hand and curled it into a fist. If my face had been showing right now, the mech would've seen that I was grinning manically. "Eat dark matter, tin-can!" I yelled and thrust my arm forward, the purple ball flew into his mouth and into his stomach.

The mech paused for a moment, as if he didn't know what was going on… then…

BOOM!

The mech exploded into a billion mechanical pieces and I found myself rolling half a dozen feet away. If it were not for my shields and armour, I'd have been a dead man from that fucking blast. But I was not invincible as my entire body screamed with agony in both my chest, head and throat from where the mech had strangled me. Despite that, I gingerly picked myself off the floor and rested a hand upon my head to prevent a wave of dizziness from clouding my vision.

" _You alright, Connor?"_ Athena asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," I hissed between clenched teeth. "Stupid bastard merely knocked the wind out of me."

" _Only winded you?"_ A quick vital check came up a few seconds, red dots pointing at some areas. _"Scans shows you have a concussion, two broken ribs and a squeezed trachea. I wouldn't call that winded!"_

Heh, never knew Athena to be the sentimental type. I wanted to say something witty, but my aching throat and body was more than enough to convince me that it was not the time.

The pillars surrounding me fell back into the ground just as Miranda started to approach me from the far side of the room. Her head was turned to her left where a solid wall was nearby. She frowned for a moment, nodded and turned back to me. "Seems like Doctor Carrington was impressed with your progress," she said and then her face softened somewhat. "It's safe to talk now without them overhearing us. Are you alright?"

I smirked but then doubled over in pain as I felt the painful process of the nanites doing their work to fix the damage that had been done to me.

Once the wave passed, I looked up at her with an amused expression. "Just a few broken ribs and a concussion," I replied casually despite the small groan escaping from my lips afterwards.

Miranda lifted an eyebrow and Athena emerged from my omni-tool, anger burning in her blue eyes. "He was lucky that the mech didn't even manage to kill him," she snapped. "What were you trying to pull in sending a Rampart and a TYR into fighting him when he has only been training for over twenty-four hours?"

Miranda lowered her gaze, a hint of sadness in her ice blue eyes. "Doctor Carrington demanded that he see whether Connor was up to standards," she answered quietly. "I couldn't ignore his orders or else I'd risk exposing our cover. Even though I was… afraid that you could've died as a consequence of my foolishness… I… I knew that you would not in the end."

I struggled to contain my discomfort as the nanites continued their work to heal my broken ribs, but eventually it became less and less until it was no more than an annoyance. "Next time," I sighed, "warn me before you pull something like that again. We're supposed to be in this together."

She nodded, "I know, but I cannot promise that it will happen again, Connor. Eventually he'll find out that we're hiding something from him and he'll surely kill us both."

"Then we won't let him," I insisted, throwing an arm for dramatic effect. "I'd rather die than be held captive against my will."

"That will not happen," Miranda growled. She took a step closer to me and jabbed a gloved finger in my chest, causing me to wince. "As long as I'm alive, you will not be dying on my watch. We need you alive, Connor. You just have to put up with it until the time does come for you to get out of here."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

She hesitated, her body becoming as still as stone and her eyes once again swept around for anything out of the ordinary until she took a deep breath. "Once we have you up to speed in terms of training, which, judging from what I've seen today, shouldn't take very long…" She chewed her bottom lip before she continued, "You'll be getting out of here."

"You have a plan?" Athena asked, her blue eyes frowning sceptically.

"I do, but now is not the time to be talking about it," Miranda answered. "For now, we'll continue your training until I believe you are ready."

"Then here's a question you can answer," I spoke up. "If I'm escaping, how exactly am I getting off this station?"

A thin smile formed on the woman's lips and she pulled out her omni-tool, then a holographic projection of a ship appeared in front of us. It didn't look anything special, but judging from its appearance, it looked like it can get in and out of crossfires pretty easily. It had an aerodynamic feel to it with its angular body and broad wings shaped like a bird's pointed backwards similar to a turian designed frigate. The front didn't seem much, but the rest of the body was a little thicker in the middle and back to house the four thrusters and wings.

"With this," she explained. "You'll be escaping in the final part of Project Chimera."

"Project Chimera?" I asked.

"You and Athena are two thirds of the project," Miranda answered. "The Sparrowhawk is the last third. You all go together in order to create the ultimate soldier for Cerberus to fight against the rising Commander Shepard. However, once I realised what was at stake for Cerberus when I saw the future through your mind, I knew that I had to do something in order to help."

"So you really are betraying them in order to make a better future for it? Not just the galaxy?" I asked.

Miranda nodded. "Indeed," she replied, putting the hologram away. "But we can't do it now until you're ready. Judging from my estimates and your quick progression, it will only be a matter of three or four months. The Sparrowhawk will not be finished until then, but once it is and I deem you good enough, I will help you escape."

"And once I escape," I pressed, "where do I go from there?"

"Find a place to lay low until the attack on Eden Prime happens," Miranda answered. "We'll meet up again afterwards and we'll figure out a plan from there." She looked at me seriously, her deep blue eyes seemed to pierce deeply into my soul and I found myself cringing underneath it. "So will you do it?"

I grinned. "You think I wouldn't pass up a chance to kick some Cerberus ass? I've been wanting to do it since I got here in this hellhole." I punched my fists together just for the sake of wanting to feel like an actual badass. "I'd be happy to."

"I'm definitely in as well," Athena chirped in.

For the first time since I met her in person, Miranda's lips curled into a truthful smile. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting, but it definitely put warmth into her character.

"Then we better get started."

Couldn't have said it better myself!

* * *

 **And there you have it. Chapter has finally been done and I am fucking itching to get the next chapter for Transition Effect out as soon as possible. I've been neglecting my stories for a very long time and that makes me a stupid bitch. Fuck me.**

 **Yes, I made up the TYR mech because I fucking can!**

 **TYR mechs are so named because of their cloaking capabilities and their design for kicking serious ass when they want to, aka named after the Norse god of War called Tyr that got his hand eaten by Fenrir. So basically, they're the brutes between the slow lumbering YMIR, the clumsy LOKI or the in your face FENRIS.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Escape from Hellview

Vindicated Masses

 **This is it guys! Brace yourselves for the best escape plan I'd ever planned! We also learn a little bit about Connor's old life back at home. I hope it's fitting for you.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5:**

 **The Escape from Hellview**

* * *

If there is one thing I hate, it's waiting. I know that Miranda told me time and time again to be patient for the time when it was right to get out of here, but I absolutely hated it. Sure, my dad often criticised me for being impatient when I was a kid during our fishing trips, but that didn't stop me from voicing my opinion every chance I got. Hell, Miranda was starting to get a little bit annoyed every time I asked the same question over and over again: when was it happening? God, I feel like Nappa from that abridged version of my favourite anime.

After a month of asking, it took a concentrated shock from Athena to eventually shut me up. I knew that she often shocked me whenever my vitals started going crazy because of some thought of a panic attack, but now she started doing it whenever I got impatient about something. For some reason, she turned it into a game whenever I asked a question that involved the word 'when'. Ask a sentence with the word and she'd jolt me into shutting up. Now I've had to resort to… using another word to avoid it. Too bad she was smarter than that.

My training progressed steadily over the course of almost two months, but Miranda had patience unlike anything I'd seen before. Though the routine was pretty much the same: sleep, train, eat, train, and then sleep some more. There was hardly a time whenever I needed a break except for when my biotics got too much. Sometimes I'd get a broken rib during biotic martial arts training that resulted in the nanobots working effortlessly to fix it up, and often had me ending up on the floor and groaning in agony for half an hour.

Unfortunately, Athena was powerless to ease my discomfort, but at least Miranda was kind enough to let me lie there until I had recovered. But I'll never forget the fact that even though I'd been modified to be stronger than an average human, Miranda had more experience than me. No matter how much experience I gained, she would always be better in terms of kicking my ass. She'd have probably broken all of my ribs if she even wanted to, but this was a lesson that I had to learn on my own.

But, whenever training or food was not involved, sometimes I was shoved into that very room from before and go up against TYR and Rampart mechs, but whenever they were in a pissed enough mood, they'd seriously test my skills and pit me against a YMIR mech that often resulted in me almost dying. Thank God they were not that keen in letting their new pet die so easily.

Note to self: Don't shoot their heads. They explode. Loudly.

And then, after Miranda was done training me and the scientists of Project Chimera were not in the mood to seeing the results, I was locked up in my cell with none of my weapons and having guards stationed outside. Sometimes they were troopers, other times they were Centurions.

Even if I did escape, I would be unarmed with only my omni-tool and Athena at my disposal while they would be ready with their electric batons and, of course, tranquilised weapons. They really didn't want me dead, which was a good thing, for me at least. Miranda told me during our conversations over meals it cost them a million credits to build the Vindicator armour, another million to get me from my dimension, but it took a billion to build the Transporter. She didn't specify how much it took to make Athena and the Sparrowhawk all together, but I could only guess that it was a lot.

In other words, if I so much as even died, then the whole project would've been deemed a failure and everything would be lost, and both Miranda and Doctor Carrington would be blamed on by the Illusive Man.

Or worse.

But with each passing day over the course of two months, I grew stronger and more experienced. I still had no idea what Miranda was planning, but once it was the day, she'd send Athena a message and my A.I companion (whom I'd started to call my friend) would tell me the rest. Exactly how she was going to get a message to her, I'd no idea. Athena had kept me sane during my lonely time in the cell and I'd be more than happy to put my trust in her… hands I guess.

Let's just hope that whatever plan Miranda's got up her sleeve, it would be enough.

* * *

It was 5AM on the station according to my omni-tool, I was busy doing push-ups to pass the time. For some reason, I hadn't been able to get any sleep. I don't know why I couldn't, but the blood in my bones had been pumping me with adrenaline and thus it kept me awake. Despite Athena's gentle reassurance that there was nothing to worry about, I kept on getting the feeling that something was up.

And… needless to say, I'd been having nightmares over the last couple of days.

The images of the experiments the scientists had been putting me through, asides from training, had continued to flash through my mind. The same image of seeing myself being strapped to the chair and being injected with the nanobots. I was unable to fight back, unable to move. I don't even know if I'd even been screaming both inside the nightmare and out in the physical world. Athena had told me that she had once been stirred from her power down when I'd screamed for help, but I still don't recall the incident as a result, nor the nightmare.

She'd explained to me that she had to project an image of the waters on Thessia and it somehow caused me to calm down. I don't know what she did because I couldn't remember the night at all, but I remembered being calm and at peace and then nothing at all.

But for some reason, I stopped screaming aloud and the nightmares still continued up until now. Thus I resulted to doing some physical work outs to make myself feel a little better and make me tired enough to fall asleep without anymore worries.

" _Connor, please,"_ Athena whispered gently in my head, _"get some sleep. You've been doing these work outs for four hours. If you don't, you'll be too tired for Miranda's training session in the morning."_

I stopped doing my push-ups and sat down on the floor, breathing heavily. My arms and legs were screaming in discomfort from what I'd been doing to it over the past four hours. I felt beads of sweat drip down my forehead and behind my ears. Shit, I hadn't even noticed my aching body up until now. Miranda must be getting to me.

"I can't, Athena," I said to my friend. "I've got too much shit on my mind."

There was a quiet pause for a few moments before she spoke again, this time her voice was soft in my ears, barely a whisper: _"You miss your family."_

It was a statement, not a question.

I don't know why I nodded, but I did. Miranda had never asked me if I missed my family and my old life back at home. No one did, it was as if she was using me to be a tool for her own gain. Then again, Miranda probably wanted me to focus on the task at hand instead of wallowing in the past and self-pity. What was the point if I was already dead?

"I miss them more than anything in the whole universe," I replied. I wanted to let the tears flow, but I wasn't going to let my emotions get the better of me, even if Athena couldn't see it. Hell, she could probably detect my emotional statement right about now. "I miss my sister, my dad, my farm. Fuck, I even miss my friends."

" _You didn't mention your mother,"_ Athena pointed out.

"She was already dead by the time I was born," I said bluntly. I leaned back and pressed myself against the wall, allowing time for myself to catch a breather. "Dad hardly ever talked about her, my sister – Kathrine – was far too young to even remember her. Four or five at most, far too innocent and young to understand death. Her death must've hurt my old man a lot deeper than I realised. When she died, she probably took a part of him to the grave. Dad raised us as his own, but he still loved us more than anything in the world. He was protective, but it didn't stop him from caring."

" _I'm sorry,"_ Athena said. I closed my eyes for a moment and I saw a projection of her turning her head away, as though she was embarrassed. _"I shouldn't have asked."_

"Don't worry about it," I replied with a small smile. "Like I said, she died after I was born. The only way I was able to see her were the photos dad kept in the photo album. Dad often pointed out that I had her hair and her eyes." I pressed a hand to my scalp, but I was unable to feel the softness of the short, dark brown hair that my mum always had. Shit, stupid gloves.

" _I think you look good with those green eyes and brown hair,"_ she joked.

"Gee, I never knew you were into brunettes," I smirked, unable to contain the laughter building up in my throat. I stood up on my feet and performed my stretches to get the aches out of my muscles. After a few minutes, I stopped and took a deep breath, "And… thanks… for listening to me. Feels good to get that shit off my chest."

" _You're welcome, Connor,"_ Athena said softly, though if I could see her right now, she probably would've been smiling. And probably blushing from my comment, too.

I resumed my stretches and Athena suddenly became quiet. Whatever she was thinking, she'd either keep it to herself or just let it sit there for a moment.

Athena was… different from any A.I I'd known in gaming wise, if I should say. Like any A.I, she had the capacity to learn and to adapt to almost any situation in a matter of seconds, but she wasn't as keen on wanting to understand organics like EDI wanted to. She was protective as far as I could understand, and most of the time she acted like a sister to me one minute, and then the next like a comforting mother. It was as if she was the mother I never had in my life: funny, reassuring, kind, and gentle. But at the same time protective, strict, and determined.

If anything, I probably had the only friend in the whole universe that actually gave a shit about me and my wellbeing. Sure, Miranda gave a shit, but she was still cold and aloof like the usual Ice Queen that she was, and even determined to ensure my survival that got her to the goal that she wanted.

" _Connor,"_ Athena's urgent voice cut through my thoughts like a hot knife through butter.

I stopped my stretching and stood stock still, my body tense and ready for anything like I'd been trained to. 'What is it?' I asked in my head. Had to keep things quiet in case the guards were listening.

Two words echoed in my brain, two words that I'd waited almost two months to hear: _"It's time."_

I frowned deeply, instincts that I had gained over the course of my training kicking in and my heart began to pound with both excitement and anxiety. The adrenaline began to pour faster into my blood. I asked only one question that was bubbling in the depths of my mind, 'What do I need to do?'

" _Miranda gave me an algorithm that will help me unlock your cell door,"_ Athena answered, her voice becoming hard as stone. _"She also had your weapons delivered beneath your feet. Don't ask her how she did it, she's smarter than you realise. Shift your weight twenty degrees to your right."_

I did as she ordered, not hesitating for a second.

Almost to my surprise, the same slab of metal that held my weapons during the tests popped out from the floor with a quiet hiss.

Miranda, I could kiss you right about now!

I quickly grabbed my weapons: bow, arrows, hand-cannons, Thanatos, my omni-sword, and… wait, what the hell? I raised my eyebrows in astonishment the sight of the familiar looking daggers. Those were not in my regular stock before. 'Athena?' I asked.

" _Miranda saw how much you played the game when you first arrived,"_ she replied simply. _"Stealth is your top priority."_

'Send Miranda my thanks when you get the time,' I told her with a grin. I grabbed my new toys and placed them against my wrists. My gloves flashed for a brief moment, the daggers magnetically clasped themselves to them and sheathed inside. With a simple thought, my helmet collapsed over my face, hissing like a snake and I found myself barely able to contain my grin. Yup, I definitely feel like a badass now.

I cocked Thanatos and walked up to the door.

'Ready, Athena?' I asked.

" _Ready whenever you are, Connor,"_ she answered.

"Then let's get the hell off this station," I muttered underneath my breath.

I pressed my omni-tool against the door and began the hack. Miranda said that Athena could hack almost any door and could do it quickly, but she never stated exactly how fast. It took less than ten seconds and the door hissed open…

…and walked right into the shocked pair of Cerberus troopers. But I'd been expecting this, even Athena had known right from the start that they'd been there. If they were not wearing their helmets, I would've seen more than just surprise.

"How did he…" the one on my left gasped, but he never got a chance to finish his question or raise his weapon. I shoved the blade in my left wrist right into his less armoured neck. He gave a choked gargle as blood drained into his lungs and collapsed on the ground in a bloodied heap.

The last remaining trooper managed to regain his composure and whipped out his electric baton, but I was ready. I lunged forward in a quick dash, heavy armoured boots slamming on the white-washed floors that was staining with my first victim's blood. The trooper threw his baton forward in an attempt to shock me, but my reflexes kicked in and I pushed his arm to the side, grabbed it and swept behind him. But the trooper was stronger than I originally thought and he turned to wrestle his arm free and he swept a leg right underneath me.

I fell on my back, just as my proximity sensors warned me of an incoming blow and I rolled to the side just in the nick of time. I was back on my feet just as the trooper turned his Hornet on me, but I wasn't going to let him tranq me! Not when I'd just had my first taste of freedom in almost two months. I built the dark energy in the palm of my hand and threw it in the trooper's face. Were it not for his shields, the Warp would've done a lot more damage, but it was more than enough as the trooper gasped with surprise, only to meet my blade as I rammed it into his throat.

"Don't forget to say hi to the three-headed hellhound for me," I snarled bitterly.

I swiftly removed the blade and he fell dead on the ground. I watched with disgust as he drowned on his own blood. I turned my head away, wincing. I'd made my first kill and I didn't like it one bit.

" _Come, Connor,"_ Athena whispered gently. _"I don't know if the troopers alerted the others or not, but if they haven't, we mustn't be discovered."_

"Right," I said, turning away from the corpses. I would use my cloak, but I absolutely couldn't afford to waste energy, not when I might need it to avoid attention. I jogged carefully down the corridor where the only exit from my cell led me out of and up the stairs. I stopped for a brief moment and brought Athena's holographic form on my HUD. 'I assume Miranda gave you the schematics to the station, correct?'

" _She did,"_ she replied. _"No doubt she knew you needed directions to get to the docking station where the Sparrowhawk is located."_

'Exactly,' I answered. 'Which way from this point on?'

Athena raised a hand and a holographic projection of the station appeared. It looked similar to the Lazarus Research Station back in Mass Effect 2, at least judging from the appearance. I only knew a fair bit from playing the game when Shepard first woke up, but that's where the similarities ended. I didn't know every tile and wall like at the back of my hand! Geez!

" _We're here at the Chimera's Tail,"_ she explained and a red dot began blinking at the bottom. _"There is an elevator just down the corridor on your left where Miranda takes you to do your training, but you'd have to get past the guards."_

I frowned bitterly. Great, more fucking killing. But if I was to get out alive, I had to kill.

" _It's the only way, Connor,"_ Athena said softly as though she had read my mind.

'I know,' I sighed. 'But that doesn't mean I have to like it.'

Athena said nothing as she looked down at her hands for a brief second. It looked for a moment that she was struggling with something on her mind, but then she shook it off and her hands balled into fists. She then vanished from my HUD, thus forcing me to press on in the direction she ordered me to go.

It's funny if Miranda had this planned all along, but I still do not know what else she had in mind. How was she going to prevent Doctor Carrington from sending troopers to taking me to the next training session, or better yet… the next torturous test? She'd have to be pretty smart to know what she was doing.

I quietly made my way down the corridors, my scanners on full alert for anything that would get within reach of my proximities.

A warning beep in my ear caused me to pause just as I neared a corner. I quickly ducked behind a stack of crates. My HUD then brought up what looked like a security camera hanging from the ceiling at the far end. Hiding behind the crates in time had barely allowed me to be picked up.

'Athena?' I whispered in my mind.

" _Just one security camera and two guards around the corner,"_ she said. _"Those two are the ones I told you about. The elevator is just between them."_

My eyes shifted over the full green bar on the bottom corner beneath my bar of shields. I frowned and peered over the crates. The camera was looking in a different direction now, so if I used my cloak now just as it was turning around again, I could get in and kill the guards.

Unless…

I pulled out my omni-tool and set it to charge up. As it did so, I whipped my arm around and shot a quick Overload at the camera. It sparked briefly and the camera's light turned off. I've got probably two minutes before it turns back on again, but it's more than enough for me to make my move.

I engage my cloak and dash around the corner as quietly as I could. The two troopers hadn't noticed anything until it was too late. I closed the distance between us and unleashed my hidden blade into the right one's neck, blood splattering to the floor.

"He's escaped!" the remaining trooper screamed, turning his Hornet on me to fire his tranquilisers. "The Head has escaped!"

I knew it was too late for me to stop him from sounding the alarm, but at least I can stop him from knocking me out. I turn as I let the body of my kill fall and send a roundhouse kick to his gut that sent him crashing into the wall behind him, followed by a sickening crack.

I came out of my cloak as he let out a stifled groan. I walked up to him, casting an eerie shadow over his broken body. He was still breathing. If my old man saw me now as a killer, he'd be very disappointed in me. But when it came to survival, he'd understand why I'm doing it.

I looked down at my armoured wrists where my hidden blades had splashed them with blood.

Now was not the time for second thoughts when from out of the corner of my eye, the trooper weakly pressed a finger to his wrist and alarms suddenly blared to life. Fucking piece of shit! I did the only thing that I could do and stabbed one of my blades into his chest, silencing him forever.

" _Go, Connor! Go!"_ Athena screamed in my ear.

I whirled around in time just as least half a dozen of Centurions rounded the corner and aimed their Mattocks loaded with tranquilisers at me. I took one simple step backward and pressed the button on the panel next to the door. The Centurions fired their shots, just as the door closed, but only a single tranq got through, only by barely missing my body by a hair's width.

Thank god Cerberus' _highly_ trained troops are terrible at aiming.

" _Connor…"_

I blinked and looked down.

"Well… that ain't fucking good," I said without thinking.

Deep in right arm was a tranquiliser dart. Shit, how did they manage to design darts that could pierce my fucking armour? Didn't Doctor Carrington say that this armour was made out of one of the strongest alloys to have ever been discovered? Maybe he took a precaution by developing darts that could pierce it in case I tried anything funny.

" _I don't think Miranda knew about that,"_ Athena said, her voice worried.

I chewed my bottom lip. "How long does it take for these things to take effect?" I asked.

" _If you didn't have the nanobots in your blood,"_ Athena replied quietly, _"it would've knocked a physically healthy human in less than ten minutes. But with the nanobots inside you, they'll attempt to fight the drug's effects as long as they can."_

"Estimates?" I demanded.

" _Estimation is not exactly accurate…"_

"Give me your best guess!" I shouted.

I think I scared her at my sudden change of tone, but she sensed my urgency and took less than a second to respond, _"Best estimate is twenty minutes."_

"More than enough," I growled, readying Thanatos and furrowing my brow deeply. "Those bastards are going to regret for ever keeping me prisoner here in the first place."

The continuously blaring alarms were enough to tell me that the troopers would no doubt be waiting for me at the level that Athena had set to take us to. If twenty minutes was all it was going to take to knock me out, it was more than enough for me to get out of this hellhole. Provided that I didn't collapse in the middle of a fight.

I turned to the panel. "How many more to go?"

" _Five more levels,"_ Athena replied.

I'm in the fucking future and they still haven't made the elevators faster?! Goddamnit!

* * *

 **I apologise for the cliffhanger, but it must be as it should be, and... I intend for the Cerberus prison arc to end with a fucking bang!  
**


	6. Flight of the Sparrowhawk

Vindicated Masses

 **Because I'm feeling in a generous mood… MORE!**

 **Hold onto your fucking butts because it's gonna be close!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:**

 **Flight of the Sparrowhawk**

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, the elevator dinged happily and I couldn't help but let out a dark growl in the back of my throat like a feral animal.

Finally!

I readied my body and checked that everything was ready. The doors opened slowly and I take cover on the left side, hidden from supposed view. I drew a deep breath into my lungs, my heart racing. God if I had some hardcore music blaring through my ears right about now, I'd feel relaxed. But since Athena had been unable to let me connect to the Extranet… I will be a bored panda for a while.

When my hearing picked up nothing, and neither did the motion tracker, I frowned suspiciously.

Now this was just fucking weird.

I peeked around the corner, preparing to switch to my cloak just in case, my trigger finger on Thanatos' barrel.

Nothing.

'Detect anything that I might be missing?' I asked Athena.

There was a soft beep a second after I asked the question and my little friend appeared on my HUD, shaking her head. _"Nothing, Connor,"_ she replied. _"If there is someone out there, they must be using dampeners to prevent me from finding them."_

I peered down the several metres wide corridor. At the far end in branched off into a T junction, one leading to possibly the only escape from off this station. I couldn't help but suspect that something was up. I mean, with the alarms still constantly blaring through my ears, you'd think that over fifty or so troopers would be lying in wait for me to get there.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," I said to both Athena and myself.

Suddenly static blared through my ears and I almost jumped a foot in the air. I ducked back behind my hiding place, heart pounding with absolute fear and adrenaline. To my surprise, a familiar raven-haired woman appeared on my HUD, a cool smile upon her lips.

" _Looks like you need a hand,"_ Miranda said, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

"Miranda?" I gasped, switching off my external speakers in case someone I couldn't possibly see would be listening in. I couldn't afford to give away her betrayal to Cerberus. "What are you doing?"

" _Helping out a friend,"_ she replied with a smirk.

"Just how do you intend to do that?" I asked.

" _Remember your training, Connor,"_ Miranda informed. _"I didn't do it for nothing."_

"I know, but I feel like there's a whole squadron of troopers out there waiting for me in ambush," I explained. "Hell, I'm not even sure if there is anything out there in this corridor that could be standing between me and the only ship that can take me off this station."

" _There is a way,"_ Miranda said softly.

" _Ms. Lawson, it's too risky!"_ Athena barked from out of the blue. _"If he took that route, he'd end up in the worst situation we've ever put him through. Even you know that! I won't let him do it!"_

I frowned. "What route?"

Athena turned to me, blue transparent eyes flashing dangerously. Oh shit, mother mode everyone! _"There's a route that will take you around this corridor, but it has over two dozen TYR and only two YMIR mechs. It will take you directly to the place where the Sparrowhawk is docked."_

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. If I took this route that I was on, I'd surely be surrounded by at least fifty or so troopers, but if I took the other, over two dozen TYR and two YMIR mechs would lie in wait. I could handle one or two TYR and Rampart mechs, but a YMIR mech on its own? Nope! One YMIR mech is okay when it's not blowing up in my face, but _two_?! I'd have to be fucking insane to be able to do it! I'm not fucking Commander Shepard!

I exhaled slowly and once again peeked around the corner.

It was now or never.

I checked to make sure that my cloak's energy was full and braced myself, but not before I felt myself sway and my vision began to darken. Wait, the tranquilisers were already starting to work? Shit, have to make this fast!

"I'm going in," I whispered.

" _Best of luck, Connor,"_ Miranda said as I heard Athena let out a sigh of relief.

I activated my cloak and ran as fast as I could down the long length of corridor, my heart rushing to meet my brain. I was not surprised to come face to face with a shimmering humanoid… but to see a Phantom appear out in front of me to meet me head on, I definitely didn't see that coming!

The female warrior ran straight toward me just as I unleashed a flurry of bullets in her direction, but she nimbly cartwheeled aside like a fucking pro! Thanatos barked with fury, but the Phantom raised her hand and brought up a biotic bubble, protecting herself from further harm.

"Fuck!" I shouted.

"Fool!" the Phantom spat venomously, whipping out her sword. "You think you can escape?"

I had no other choice but to bring out my omni-sword in return. It flashed orange as it connected to my omni-tool, blazing like the sun. I charged for her and she ran at me. Miranda was not as experienced when it came to using a sword because she preferred her biotics, but that never stopped me from trying to practise on my own. The blades of the Phantom and my own connected together, sending sparks flying.

"You have no chance against me!" the Phantom laughed. She threw a surprise punch into my gut, sending me staggering back. She closed the distance between us in seconds, blade raised above her head. I gritted my teeth and rolled right underneath, only barely avoiding a slash to my side.

Shit, shields were not going to protect me here. No siree.

I gathered my biotics into my hands and unleashed a Warp at her back. She let off a yelp of surprise as her barriers exploded, but she did not fall thanks to her strong armour. She turned and ran at me again, sword flashing silver in the light. I barely managed to bring up my own sword to block it, only to find myself to falling to my knees. Fuck, Phantoms were stronger than I originally thought!

But even a master can make an error!

" _Connor, her left side!"_

I knew what she meant. I activated my hidden blade and stabbed it into her exposed side. She let out a gasp of surprise and loosed her hold on her sword, giving me the chance to whip out my purple and blue hand-cannon from my hip and place its nozzle against her helmet. I scowled as I pulled the trigger and her head exploded into skull fragments and brain matter.

Seriously… gross…

Shivering and leaving the headless corpse, I set off again, knowing that the fucking troopers would've heard the loud voice of my hand-cannon and would be coming to see whether the Phantom had failed or not, which means they'll be heading this way. Huh, I might need to give these two some names when this is over with. If I ever get out of here.

Seriously, I knew these bad girls were awesome in Destiny, but I never knew they'd be _that_ badass in this universe!

"Miranda, where are you?" I asked once I turned left at the junction and continued my mad-long sprint to freedom. "Will you be coming with me?"

" _I'm at the Chimera's Head,"_ Miranda replied. _"And no I will not be coming with you. When the alarms sounded, Doctor Carrington ran off somewhere, I'm tailing him, but I lost sight of him. I don't know where he's going, but he moved faster than even for me to catch."_

"Any guess as to where he was heading?"

" _None,"_ came her simple reply. _"There are no schematics, but he must have some plan to deal with you."_

"I'll stay on my toes," I reassured her. "You taught me well, after all."

" _Let's hope it pays off,"_ she said. There was a short pause and when she spoke to me again, she sounded desperate. _"I just got told Carrington is getting into a suit of armour! Be careful, Connor!"_

The link went dead and I found myself cursing both internally and externally. It took a 'reminder' from Athena to calm down and I couldn't help but feel absolutely terrified over what I was about to face. I doubt it was an Atlas he was getting into, those things wouldn't be made for another six and a half years! Goddamnit, what am I getting myself into?!

The very thought of facing the unknown only forced me to run even faster, but I was forced to slow down because of the effects of the tranq attempting to knock me off my feet, i.e. the swimming head, the darkening vision, and the quaking knees. Shit, I can't fall down here, not when I'm so fucking close! Words of encouragement from Athena managed to force me onward.

This was it.

There was no turning back once I got to the very doors that kept me outside the docking back.

I managed to get to the large set of doors and got Athena to perform her awesome hacks. The doors slowly opened to reveal the very same port that was on Cronos Station… and full of troopers, and one very large suit of armour unlike anything I'd seen before in my whole experience in the Mass Effect universe.

The powered armour turned itself around once the doors had finished turning, exposing the human form of what appeared to be Doctor Carrington inside.

The Centurion and Assault troopers aimed their weapons at me, only for Carrington to raise his arm, forcing them to pause before they could fire a single shot.

"No," his synthesised voice echoed from the suit, "I wish to speak to him first before he dies. He's already a half-dead man."

Less than a second after the words had left his mouth, I found myself tipping slightly over and leaning on the wall nearby. I shook my head to try and clear the forced exhaustion from my brain.

The deep thumping of mechanical footfalls drew me out of my drowsiness, forcing me to look up as Carrington drew closer. "You had such potential, Connor," he drawled sarcastically. "It's such a pity it has to come down to this."

"You don't want me alive?" I asked.

"Oh, the Illusive Man does," he replied. "He sees you as the ultimate weapon to use against those who stand against him, rather than join him." He shook his head. "But not me. I could've used you to make the perfect weapon, create the ultimate killing machine, but I knew that after what I saw from reading your mind… I knew that eventually you would not be swayed no matter what we did to you. No, it's best to kill you right now and use what we gained from our experiments to make a better weapon."

" _Connor, you're running out of time,"_ Athena's voice echoed in my head.

My gaze wandered over to the waiting ship that was the Sparrowhawk. It was more beautiful than the design shown by Miranda two months previously. And if I bypassed Carrington, there was still far too many troopers for me to defeat by myself. Even Athena with me in my head, my weapons, and my biotics at my disposal, it would never be enough to take them all down before the sleeping drugs kicked into full throttle.

Then… a strange thought sprang to life…. The very images of myself, Athena, and the Sparrowhawk… the words of Miranda saying that the three of us were connected together in more ways than one.

Maybe…

'Athena, can you hack into the Sparrowhawk from here?' I asked.

" _Yes, but it would take some time,"_ came the hesitated reply. _"Why?"_

'I'll distract this asshole for as long as I can, I think you know the rest.'

She hesitated for a second, but then came the affirmative and I returned to reality at hand when I remembered I still had these guys still pointing their weapons at me, and a fucking power suit of armour standing right in front of me. Time to play fucking dumb.

"Alright, you got me," I sighed, raising my arms in surrender. "I know when I'm beaten."

"Hmm," Carrington hummed with a slight shift in his tone. "You changed your mind?"

"Look," I said, sounding bored, "I know when to fold 'em. If I surrender, you'll obviously kill me right where I stand, but maybe you can still use me." I looked up at him dead in the eye. "With me standing by your side, the Illusive Man would surely think twice about having you as his top dog scientist."

The suit moved forward several steps until it was just less than two feet from my trembling form. He leered over me, tongue licking his lips wet. "If I let you live, will you come quietly?" he asked.

I nodded, slowly lowering my arms and letting one fall behind my back. I powered up my omni-tool.

He came closer. "Do you swear loyalty to me?" he asked, his voice cold.

Before I could give him the answer, a message from Athena came over my HUD in two simple words: _"I'm in."_

I looked back at the asshole hiding behind that suit of armour that seemingly made him powerful, but I remember an old Japanese saying: 'You don't fight the armour, you fight the man inside.' I allowed the biggest grin to form on my face and before Carrington had a chance to realise what was happening, I whipped out my bow and a charged electrical arrow.

"How about no, you fucking sonovabitch!" I yelled and let the arrow loose just as the Sparrowhawk sprang to life, engines warming for the first time. The arrow hit the armour's glass window, shattering it and unleashed a course of electricity that would've been over ten thousand volts!

The suit jerked back and Carrington's screams of surprise and agony pierced my ears before it fell on its back with a loud bang that would've wakened the hellhounds.

The troopers turned on both me to shoot at my cover, and at the Sparrowhawk. The ship rose in the air, hovering a few feet, its thrusters roaring and kicking up wind. Instead of firing tranqs, they were now firing REAL bullets. Shots bounced off my shields, dropping them to below fifty percent, but it was more than enough for me to get behind cover and turn my bow upon them. I let loose two ordinary arrows, bypassing a Centurion's shields and hitting vital organs in his chest.

Athena directed the Sparrowhawk slowly as the stupid troopers continued to fire on her, each shot bouncing harmlessly off the strong mass effect shields. She continued to angle the ship until its wings titled slightly upward, resulting in four objects, two underneath each wing, coming forth.

"SHIT!" a Centurion bellowed. "DISRUPTOR TORPEDOES!"

I dove for the floor as Athena unleashed them upon the army and the entire burst into flames. I was sent hurtling across the room and slamming into a nearby wall. My vision blurred to white and pain unlike anything I'd experienced before exploded through my body. I could scarcely hear my own bloodcurdling scream at the top of my lungs because of the ringing in my ears.

" _CONNOR!"_

I jolted from the incoming darkness that was once again bearing down over my head and vision. Athena's voice continued to scream from both the ship and inside my helmet. I weakly looked up to see the Sparrowhawk hovering just a few feet above me. I realised that my bow was just less than a metre from my hand and I pathetically reached out for it, no way was I losing this.

A loud boom from further inside the station jerked me back into reality, but the drugs were beginning to kick in. I felt weaker than before and my head hung like a dead leaf. If it weren't for the excruciating pain pouring through my ribs, back and stomach, and the whole heap of adrenaline going through my blood, I'd have fallen into a forced sleep completely.

I wasn't sure what the damage was inside me, but I had a feeling the nanobots were going to have a field day in fixing them up… big time.

Another boom rattled again and Athena's anxious voice forced me to get back on my feet again, if albeit slowly… and fucking painfully. I looked up as Athena pulled the Sparrowhawk closer to my position and she opened the hatch on its right side. I gingerly tested to make sure that none of my legs were broken, but discovered they weren't. I hobbled as fast as I could just as another boom echoed around the station, this time it sounded closer than the last one.

Fuck, this place was going up in smoke! How could disruptor torpedoes do that much damage to a fucking station? Unless… fuck, Miranda, that Ice Queen bitch! I ran as fast as my legs would allow to get to the Sparrowhawk, only to fall flat on my face and sending even more pain going through my body and another scream of agony!

" _CONNOR!"_ Athena cried.

I turned my body over, only to see Carrington leering over me and still in his sparking and currently on fire powered suit of armour. The mad scientist inside the suit had blood trickling down one side of his head, and the other with a look that would forever haunt me for the rest of my life: the other half of his face was showing the complete white of the bone in his cheek and his eye was missing from its socket!

This stupid bastard just cannot seem to fucking die! Didn't he realise this place was about to get blown to hell?!

"If I'm going to die, I'm taking you with me!" he snarled defiantly.

" _Connor, duck!"_ Athena called urgently through my head. I did as she ordered, covering my head with both arms as from beneath the muzzle of the Sparrowhawk came a gun that threw a motherfucking laser straight into Carrington's arm, blowing it clean off!

Blood and sprayed from the missing socket of his arm and I didn't waste a second. I scrambled as quickly as I could and sprinted for the ship. More blasts came even closer than the last and I felt every ounce of adrenaline being poured into my legs, giving me the last burst of speed that I needed to make a giant leap into the sky, only to find myself falling and my fingers barely touched the ship's belly.

I yelled in both in agony and in mad defiance to death and then, as if some unknown angel had heard my cry, the jetpack on my armour's back ignited to life, giving me a push strong enough for me to reach for the ship and straight inside. I rolled across the floor just as I felt Athena turn the ship around and blast itself with enough force to send me rolling about and crashing into something hard.

And then… agonising darkness overwhelmed me completely.


	7. From Beneath the Grave

Vindicated Masses

 **Guys, during the last two chapters, I didn't get any reviews and I felt extremely disappointed in myself. I felt ashamed that because of some reason that no one probably thought that they were not good enough or I did something wrong. What had I done to not receive anything critical (negative or otherwise) or positive? I'm not asking for reviews or anything, but I do not get anything, it makes me feel bad that I did something bad and had no one to tell me what that was.**

 **If you have the deceny to at least tell me how I can improve, then please do so. I'm extremely open to criticism (negative or otherwise) as long as its detailed and helpful so that I can do better in the future. When you don't tell me what I did wrong, the story would look really shit even more.**

 **Please remember that reviews are always welcome! No matter what, even if it's just an "update please!" or "I like it, please continue", it just tells me that you're enjoying it. Please, just find it in your heart to tell me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:**

 **Nightmares from Beneath the Grave**

* * *

The first thing I became aware of when I came around from my forced sleep was that I was lying on something soft and with something warm heavily draped over my body. I attempted to open my eyes, only to be welcomed by a sharp flare of light and I was forced to close them again and cover my face with a gloved hand. Fucking hell… that's what I call a sensitive pair of eyes.

As if someone had heard my thought, the lights automatically dimmed enough for me to slowly open them again. I soon realised that I was looking up at the ceiling of the Sparrowhawk and I remembered what had occurred earlier. I wasn't sure how long I'd been unconscious for, but I hoped that it wasn't a very long time.

A quick glance around made me realise that I was in a single room only big enough to house one person, with just a single desk near the front with a computer, and a shower on the end. The entire room was dimly lit thanks to whoever was watching me. Strangely enough, there was even an empty tank of water just on the opposite side of the room.

Seriously? Cerberus sure love their fish.

I pushed myself up slowly, only to fall back down when a wave of agony washed over my chest and back, forcing me lie back down.

There was a soft whirring noise from my omni-tool and Athena's feminine form appeared in front of me. "Connor, you're awake," she said, relief in her voice. "I was worried you were not going to make it."

"How long was I out?" I groaned weakly.

"About six hours," she answered. "The tranquiliser's effects wore off just two hours ago, but you continued to sleep. You would've been awake as soon as they did, but you continued to sleep." Her brow furrowed deeply. "Does it hurt?"

I nodded to confirm her question. "Everything hurts all over," I said. "Feel like I got run over by a semi-truck over a hundred times." I looked up at her. "What's the damage, Doc?"

"Physically?" Athena asked and she took a deep huff and waved an arm that brought up an image of my skeleton structure. "Well, according to the armour's readings from after the explosion, you'd suffered from a broken fibula, five broken ribs, a cracked vertebrae, a dislocated right shoulder."

She then waved another hand and my internal organ structure appeared as well. "You'd also suffered from a punctured right lung from one of your broken ribs, but the nanobots managed to set it back into place while you'd been unconscious. I had to design a program in the Sparrowhawk to perform an operation to drain the blood out of it since the bots could not do it on their own, as good as they are. Your liver also had internal damage, but it wasn't as serious as your lung. Besides, human livers are amazing, and it can repair most of the damage on its own. Unfortunately, I had to remove one of your kidneys as it ruptured during the explosion."

I raised a hand, silencing her. "Athena, if this armour is part of me and it keeps me alive, how were you able to perform the operations on me?"

Athena tapped the side of her head with a finger. "In case of an emergency," she explained, "I can perform a simple procedure that will not result in the armour disconnecting itself from your nervous system and killing you. However, if I tried it while you're conscious, it will only result in killing you."

I sighed and rested my head against the pillow, breathing in deeply. So Doctor Carrington was right, I was trapped in this armour for the rest of my life. I would never be able to make physical contact with the world ever again, nor would I ever be able to touch another person's skin. Hell, I couldn't go to the bathroom anymore! The nanobots in my blood pretty much ate everything that the body considered as waste in my gut and turned it into energy to keep themselves alive. As long as I ate, drank, and breathed, they would continue to live in my system for a very long time. Unless I died of old age of course… that is if I could die from that. Now I knew how Tali really felt during her loyalty mission… without the whole weak immune system kind of crap, of course.

"Connor… there's more," Athena's soft voice said, jolting me from my thoughts.

"When hasn't there been any good news since I got here?" I retorted.

If she was hurt by my response, she didn't show it. Instead, she continued on with her diagnosis. "Asides the punctured lung and a removed kidney, I also had to replace your right kneecap with a metal plating."

"That doesn't sound too bad," I said, lifting an eyebrow.

"Let me finish, Connor," Athena said firmly. "Your skull was also cracked from the impact, but your helmet absorbed most of the damage. It would've been a whole lot worse if it weren't for it and you'd have suffered internal brain damage. You might have nanites in your system, Connor, but you still get hurt. A sliver of metal, however… embedded itself in your skull. I got it out with the assistance of the Sparrowhawk's medical tools, but the nanobots are still working on fixing it. You might have severe headaches for a few days."

"I'm just lucky to be alive, I guess," I said.

Athena chuckled warmly. "Either you have a higher being watching over you or you really do have a lot of dumb luck," she smiled. "You're going to be sore for a few days, but you should be alright. My advice to you is that you stay in bed for another two hours and not do anything too drastic to yourself, after that, you're free to explore the Sparrowhawk."

For the first time in my life since I got here, I felt like I really did have a true friend in Athena. While Miranda trained me as often as she could, Athena kept me sane during the lonely hours I spent in my cell. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better friend to watch my ass. "Thanks, Athena…" I said softly. "For keeping me alive."

Her lips pulled into a soft smile and she cast her eyes to her hands. I had no idea what she was thinking, but I could only guess that it had to be something deeply personal, but then she raised her head and her blue eyes shone with kindness and mirth. "You're welcome, Connor," she said. "While it is my job to keep you alive, I… I'm glad that you're my friend."

I let that sit for a second before something bubbled up into my mind. "Athena, I have a question."

She tilted her head slightly to the side. "What is it?"

"Actually, make that three questions. One: who's flying the ship?"

She threw her head back and laughed, "Well, I am of course! You didn't think I had it in myself to be able to steer this ship while you were knocked out, did you?"

"To be perfectly honest, no I didn't," I replied, laughing with her. God it felt so good to laugh again, even if it set off a discomforting wave of pain in my chest, head and legs. At least I was alive, that was the important thing right now. "Alright, second question: what happened to Miranda?"

Athena gave a thoughtful look, her eyes shifting left and right as though she was searching for something. When she was done, she replied with a confused expression, "The last message she sent to me, she said she was going to return to one of Cerberus' stations that was close to Chimera once she was certain you'd escaped. I do not know for certain if she got away during its destruction, but I have a feeling it was her who caused it to explode, the disruptor torpedoes I fired might have given her enough reason to make it happen."

So Miranda could be either dead or alive, and even if she was alive, she would not be able to help us out from this point on. Athena and I were on our own.

"That just leaves me with the last question then," I breathed, closing my eyes and sucking in a deep breath into my lungs… ow. "Where are we now?"

"According to the system's map, we are currently in the Balor System in the Caleston Rift. If we took the mass relay, we'd only be a day's flight from the Omega Nebula."

So we were in the fucking Terminus Systems, only just a day's jump from the last place in the galaxy I wanted to be in. But if we really had taken a flight from the Horsehead Nebula where Chimera had once stood, then… great. Just fucking perfect. Cerberus was no doubt going to be hunting me down all over the fucking place. We had to get out of here as fast as possible, but of we went into the Omega Nebula, we'd be heading straight into Aria T'Loak's territory.

But then again, what else could we do? I had no fucking idea how we were going to avoid the hellhounds, but the last place I wanted to be in was Omega. Then again, what choice did I have?

"I know what you're thinking, Connor," Athena said from out of the blue. "And that is exactly where I believe we should go. Miranda explained to me that it's the only place we can go. If we sought safe haven from Miss Aria T'Loak, then you'd get more than just shelter."

"Probably more training, make a name for myself and make a hefty sum of credits?" I suggested.

Athena snapped her fingers. "Right on the credit, Genius."

"Then see if you can plot a course for the Sahrabarik System," I yawned tiredly. "Wake me when we get there, I feel like absolute shit right now."

"As you wish, Connor," Athena said, nodding. "I hope you rest well."

I didn't say another word as I carefully rolled on my side until I was facing the wall. Surprisingly the bed felt way more comfortable than the one I had back in my prison cell. It actually felt like I was floating on a group of clouds. I settled to close my eyes and let sleep take over, but the images from back on the station and the constant sessions flooded my brain, forcing me to chew my bottom lip and curl up underneath the bed covers.

I could still picture the disturbing image of the burnt up face of Carrington; his missing eye, the bone exposed on one side of his face, his voice threatening to take me along with him to his grave, and his arm being blown off by the Athena controlled-Sparrowhawk while it sprayed blood over my armour.

Shit… fucking piece of shit!

I growled deeply and sat up.

Fine, if my brain can't get the image of a lunatic out of it, I was going to have to resort to something else. I kicked the bed sheets off, despite my protesting knee, and limped out of the bedroom. If Athena noticed me not getting any sleep, she didn't press it.

I decided that the best way to calm my raging out of control brain was to explore the Sparrowhawk. It may not have looked much from the outside, but the inside was not like any ship I'd seen before.

Hell, it was… amazing.

From what I was able to gather, there were two levels. The one I was currently on was on the top floor, basically like the captain's cabin on the SR-2, only it was small enough to house a simple bed, a desk, maybe a good spot to personally decorate the wall with trophies asides from the tank to hold fish inside, and most importantly a shower.

Unlike any of the Normandy class ships, the Sparrowhawk required no elevator to get down to the next level. Stairs from outside the door led down where an almost empty square space was located, but I could still hear the gentle humming of the ship's mass effect core behind the thick wall. A ten feet long corridor led down from the empty space to the cockpit where I could sit down and pilot the ship if I wanted to, but I wasn't in the mood for sightseeing the starry wonders of space, not when I had Athena doing it for the time being. When I was confident enough, I'll do it.

I checked my omni-tool for the ship's schematics and realised there was another floor just underneath this one. Shit, should've paid more attention to Miranda's instructions. I don't remember what she said the bottom floor was for, but I definitely should check it out.

I made haste to the next set of stairs that led down, and I was more than happy to mentally count them out to keep out the terrifying images from earlier. Once I reached the bottom, my total count for these set of stairs was only eight. When I looked up again, my eyes widened with absolute surprise.

There room was much bigger than I originally thought. Damn, it actually reminded me of the garage that the SR-2 Normandy had, but it was a lot smaller, stretching as far as beneath the cockpit it could. But it wasn't the garage that drew my attention, it was the nice looking vehicle sitting quietly on the right side of a training and shooting range.

I quickly did a double check on the size of the Sparrowhawk in my omni-tool. It certainly wasn't SR-1 Normandy size, but it definitely wasn't fighter size either, maybe between the two? From what I could see on the schematics, she had two thrusters on her wings and two on the aft section behind the element zero core. Estimates of the ship's length was eighty-seven meters.

That was enough to make my jaw drop with surprise.

Shit, that was one times smaller than the SR-1!

I headed over to the familiar vehicle and found myself grinning from ear to ear like a child at a toy store. It was a lot like the awesome looking Sparrows from the Destiny game! But this one was a little different in terms of colour. It did have the same colours to show it belonged to Cerberus, but rather they were of a deep cobalt blue with a dark yellow stripe going on either side of it. If cool wasn't enough to describe this vehicle, then awesome had to be!

I looked up at the ceiling expectedly. "Hey, Athena," I called. "Mind telling me what this little baby is?"

" _That's the hover vehicle known as the Sleipnir,"_ she explained from inside my armour. _"It's equipped with a tiny mass effect core that allows it to hover off the ground. From what the scientists were able to calculate, it can go quite fast when pushed to the limit."_

"How fast?" I asked eagerly.

" _I believe they were able to calculate it at 100mph,"_ came the simple rely.

Oh fucking yeah! Now this little baby was going to come real handy should I decide to do some planet missions. Unless of course, if Aria didn't hire me, I could go solo and become a bounty hunter like Zaeed Massani. The thought made me shake my head. Nah, it wouldn't do at all. It's what all those queer self-inserts mostly did.

Then again, we could always go to the Alliance for help, but… what could they offer me other than the cold shoulder from the Cerberus marks on my armour. They could even take the Sparrowhawk away from me as well as Athena and use them for their own purposes. Shit… I didn't think of that.

Which reminded me…

I looked down upon the Cerberus mark embedded on my chest panel. That would have to go. I didn't want Aria to freak out over me being some sort of Cerberus member. I was never part of them in the first place. This symbol had been placed there to show that they owned me like a piece of property.

I looked around the garage and spotted what appeared to be some futuristic looking tools and a toolbox sitting on a set of crates in front of the Sleipnir. I grabbed a wedge and dug it as hard as I could underneath the symbol. It took a good amount of fiddling, but after less than three minutes, the god awful thing popped clean off. It fell to the floor and I slammed my foot down on it with a loud bang that would've probably woken Satan from his slumber in the depths of Hell.

I lifted my foot and nodded with satisfaction at the broken pieces on the floor. My eyes then cast themselves down onto my dull coloured armour and I really wished right now that I could have a shower. I hadn't had a decent one in almost two months and I could probably guess that my body odour would be absolutely foul. But the dull black and silver made me feel like the armour needed more… life, but the colours also had to work well with the shadows.

"Hey, Athena," I said out loud, even though I knew she'd be listening in from my armour.

" _What is it, Connor?"_ she asked, her voice echoing from the speakers above me.

"Any chance of changing the colours to the armour? The black and silver really look boring."

" _Getting the colours changed on your own will be difficult,"_ she replied. _"Getting it done by a professional would be even harder since you cannot remove it…"_ She paused for a moment until she responded again, but this time she sounded surer of herself. _"I can make a small program in the suit's computer to allow you to change its colours to whatever you want."_

"Sounds good," I said, nodding. "Do it."

While I waited for her to get back to me with the program, I settled my eyes on the little shooting range as well as the set of training equipment on the far side of the garage. With my brain still fidgety over the earlier event, I headed over to the treadmill, set it to a decent speed that allowed me to run for a long period of time, and began.

Miranda had taken me through the training equipment hundreds of times during my stay on Chimera and it was just like 21st century training, only the equipment was a little more advanced. Physical exercise was more than just keeping myself in peak condition, but it helped me to build up on my endurance for my biotic abilities. The better my endurance, the better my chances were at handling them.

I don't know how long I continued to run, but when I felt the pounding of my heart in my chest like a thundering stampede of buffalos, the heavy breathing of my lungs, and the agony in my injured knee did I realise that I had to stop.

I leapt off the treadmill and collapsed in a puddle of sweat.

I must've lain there for about twenty minutes or so because my heart never stopping beating so fast until I blacked out.

 _The images were back again, worse this time. I could scarcely see the blood dripping from the exposed socket on Carrington's face, the charred flesh showing the white of the bone in his cheek, skull and jaw on one side of his face. The echoes of his laughter rang ongoing in my ears. I was helpless, at his mercy, held down by his suit of armour's vicelike grip._

 _Chimera was falling apart, debris was raining down… I couldn't see. I was blind from the fierce illumination of the burning fires._

 _There was no Sparrowhawk to save me, no Athena to control it…_

 _Helpless. Trapped. Alone._

 _I was about to die and I would never even be able to smell the sensation of freedom again. I was going to die alone with a psychopath._

 _Carrington laughs again and raises his mechanised arm above his head, preparing to finish me off once and for all. He brings it down and the last thing I feel was a powerful current of electricity going through my body…_

I started awake, eyes wide, heart pounding a million miles an hour than normal. I sat up quickly, screaming from the aftermath of the nightmare and automatically threw a Warp at the supposedly imaginary image of Carrington. But there was nothing there and my biotic ball exploded into dark matter pieces as it hit a wall with a very loud bang that shook the ship slightly.

" _Connor, are you alright?"_ Athena's concerned voice called from the speakers.

I allowed my armoured helmet to collapse in on itself into my neck. I pressed my hand to my forehead and I once again cursed myself for forgetting that I couldn't feel the wet beads of sweat coming over my eyebrows and down my neck. I pressed a hand to my chest and took deep, soothing breaths to ease the tight knot forming in my chest.

" _Connor?"_ Athena asked again, the worry in her voice stronger than usual.

"Just… just a nightmare, Athena," I replied quietly and fell back down on the floor in exhaustion.

" _Is there anything I can do?"_ she asked softly. _"Can I give you something from the suit to help take the edge off your anxiety?"_

I waved a hand in protest and slowly picked myself up off the floor, despite the discomfort in my right knee. Shit, I must've really pushed myself harder than I thought if I'd upset the plating in it. "No, I'm good," I told her. "Is there any food in the ship, maybe even chocolate?"

Athena replied in a soft tone, annoyed that I'd changed the subject, _"There is a kitchen just on the second floor, but I don't know if you'll find anything worth making a meal out of that can help replenish your biotic energy."_

I didn't waste any time as I made a mad run for the next level. I don't care what was in stock in the kitchen just as long as I got a fucking meal in the pit of my frustrated stomach. I hadn't eaten a decent meal since before the escape. The last one I had had been less than sixteen hours ago and I was fucking craving for food satisfaction. Stupid, fucking nanobots in my blood!

It took me only five minutes to find the kitchen, which was through a door on the left side of the ship. I dug straight into the fridge and found that it had actually been prepped with enough food and drink inside to last me a week. Huh, Miranda must've been planning this escape for a little while if she had food already inside the fridge.

If I was going to satisfy my hunger, the least I could do was just remember my 'fabulous' cooking skills and make what I could. I grabbed a large loaf of bread, a container of cheese, and a 2L bottle of water. Once I made twenty-four cheese sandwiches, I was feasting like a half-starved animal, determined to quench my hunger.

I was on my seventeenth sandwich when Athena's voice chimed in from my suit. _"Connor, the program is ready for you to use."_

I swallowed my mouthful of bread, downed some of the water and let out a contented burp. "How long did that take you?" I asked, wiping my mouth.

" _I'd just about finished when you passed out from your run on the treadmill_ ," she replied. _"Once it was complete, you'd suffered a nightmare and thus I was forced to give you an electric shock into your nervous system to get you to wake up. Before I could tell you about the completion, you complained of needing to eat. I decided it was best to let you eat in peace until you'd finished."_

I bowed my head, unable to respond. I'd been so famished and mentally drained from the nightmare that I'd forgotten all about the program she'd been working on since I'd requested it and I'd only ended up passing out and dreaming fucking nightmares of explosions and suicidal psychopaths. God, Michael Bay would be fucking proud of that if he ever saw it for himself.

"Right, sorry, Athena, set it to the omni-tool," I insisted.

" _Sending at once, Connor,"_ Athena replied.

A few seconds later and the program made its way over to my omni-tool until it was downloaded into the armour. I had my helmet come online and my HUD brought up a spinning image of my armour and an almost unlimited amount of colours on one side at my disposal.

Now we're getting somewhere!

I selected the colours that I deemed appropriate and added them to the suit's image. A simple pop up came up asking if I was sure before I selected yes with my eyes. Seconds later, I heard a simple beep and then a shift in the armour began to take shape.

"So what do you think?" I asked.

Athena brought up a showing of what the armour looked like from the outside. Going from the torso, down to the outer arms and legs, it was mostly dark red that made it appear to be the colour of blood. The once silver lining to show the muscles were now of jade green, but I added an additional effect to make it look like it was glowing a sickly light green like the biolights from the Transformer characters in the War for Cybertron games. I wasn't exactly a good drawer, but I'd made a very awesome looking azure coloured Chinese dragon snaking around my armour starting with its head resting on my right side of the chest, its neck and long body wrapped once from behind my back until its tail curled around my left leg down to my thigh. Its bright purple eyes seemed to glow like a noble creature from out of stories long forgotten.

" _Very nice, if I do say so myself,"_ Athena nodded admirably. _"Now you really look like a dangerous vigilante. Although…"_

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

" _It's missing something, but… I can't quite put my finger on it,"_ she said unsurely.

I put a hand to my chin and thought for a moment. Now that she mentioned it, it did feel like it was missing something. It felt like it was missing that mysteriousness, kind of like Batman with that badass looking cape of his.

"I think I know just the thing!" I said from out of the blue and rushed over to a cabinet. I grabbed several pieces of black cloth and ripped them into smaller pieces. Once I was done, I draped the first piece over my helmet and had it clip into place, thanks to the armour figuring out what it was. Next, I placed the second piece of cloth in front of my crotch (I know, embarrassing, right?), two pieces on my hips on my hips, and the last on my backside.

Thinking of that Star Wars character called Kylo Ren from the upcoming Star Wars movie would be the best way to describe myself. A pity that it probably came out after I came here. Now, I really looked like I could kick some serious ass.

" _That's actually much better,"_ Athena said with satisfaction. If I could see her face right now, she would most definitely be smiling with pride. _"Now you're definitely a mysterious vigilante."_

"Think Aria will take me seriously when she sees how I look?" I asked, frowning.

" _I don't know,"_ she answered honestly. _"I guess we'll find out when we get to Omega. For now, try and rest up. I know you don't want to because of the nightmares, Connor, but maybe it might be different this time."_

I frowned but nodded in agreement as I shoved the last piece of my cheese sandwich down my throat and stuffed the last ones back in the fridge for later. I might actually eat them later provided that no one steals my ship.

The best choice for now was to get some sleep, but it was going to be hard with all those images lurking in the back of my brain. I shivered but made my way back to the cabin and flopped down on my bed. My eyelids became heavy with tiredness, but eventually I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

This time, there were no images of a burning station and seeing my dying at the hands of the mad scientist known as Carrington. I don't know how they were not there all of a sudden, but nightmares didn't go away on their own overnight. Sleep had taken over but it had been restless.

When I did open my eyes again, my omni-tool's time told me it was currently 10:35AM. God I must've been more tired than I originally thought, but I felt really refreshed and rested. Yet I still wondered how I managed to escape such a dreamless night. I asked Athena about it, but she provided me with no answer except to change the subject about how we were due to approach Omega in less than half an hour.

Eyeing the shower nearby, once again wishing I could get a decent clean and feel good about myself, I headed down to the cockpit just as Athena was steering the Sparrowhawk into the docking station. No game view in the universe could ever compare to the real thing that was the lawless asteroid station! It was enormous, but it was much smaller than the Citadel station, as far as I knew. Still didn't stop it from looking very impressive with its deep red glow from underneath its mushroom cloud like body.

Yup, definitely giving Aria credit for taking over this hunk of rock. To an outsider, it might have looked pathetic, but to anyone who was seeking shelter or a place to start again without red tape, this was definitely a place to call home.

"Welcome to the next stage in hell," I said as Athena announced that the docking procedure was now complete.

I stepped out into the airlock and it opened with a simple click just as it finished equalising interior with exterior pressure. Hope Athena didn't log me as a commanding officer going ashore, that would be pretty creepy.

I then prepared to step into my new world and another chapter in my shitty life.

* * *

 **Well shit, Omega's not a good place to start your new life, but what other choice do you have if you are to avoid problems with a terrorist organisation that's probably determined to hunt you down, skin you alive, and rip all that goody goodness from off your body that keeps you alive? Not the first choice I'd make, but what other option do you have?**

 **Sure, Alliance would be great, but… eh, who knows what they'd do to you for that awesome armour you've got hitching on your nervous system.**

 **God it's the thought that counts, right?**

 **Please remember to review, at least just to tell me if the chapter is good or not. Hell, I'd even approve of "good job, please continue" or "want more!". Any review is welcome to make me feel that this story is really worth something to you.**

 **Thanks, guys.**


	8. The Queen of Omega

Vindicated Masses

 **Guys… from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for all your kind words. Even if some of them are small, I am absolutely mind-boggled by the way you all helped me reinstall my confidence as a writer. For a very long time in the past, I was afraid that there were not that many people in the community who gave a damn. I've been proven wrong just how wonderful this website can truly be when it brings many writers together to offer assistance, helpful tips, constructive criticism, ect.**

 **And yet, when I see all these kind messages telling me that this story really matters, it gives me strength to keep on going, knowing that I'm helped by those who are willing to help out. Simple reviews like "good job", "keep it up", or "I want more!" does not bother me at all, it tells me that people are enjoying it and that I should keep on going. It gives me a boost in my writing abilities and that I no longer have to be afraid of letting people down.**

 **I'm an open-minded person, and will accept any kind of advice that people would be willing to offer me. Flamers will definitely be ignored because I've got a steel hide! Eventually someone may come along and tell me my story sucks, but I'll just shrug my shoulders and give them a way to make their life a living hell: letting their words go over my shoulder like water flowing off a duck's back!**

 **Seriously, thank you so much, people! You're absolutely awesome! With the muse fed, she can keep on going.**

 **Alright, enough sucking up to you brilliant people (have I made your egos bigger?), let's see how Connor will handle his new situation!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:**

 **The Queen of Omega**

* * *

Once I stepped off the Sparrowhawk, I had to remember to keep my helmet covering my face at all times while I was out in public. The less anyone knew my identity, the less of a chance I had of making enemies. I also had to keep an act up in order to avoid any problems of being mugged. Worst case scenario would involve me being attacked if I so much as even showed even the slightest hint of weakness. At least Athena had parked the ship near the exact spot where the Normandy would eventually be when Shepard returned from the dead.

The spaceport was not as busy as I originally thought it would be, but it still drew pity into me. The red hue of the artificial atmosphere stank of poor conditions and blood. Dark alleyways littered the streets. From the left of me as I walked out of the port, I saw two Eclipse mercs talking to some hunky male batarian while a handcuffed turian dressed in rags stood between them with a collar strapped to his neck. I even caught a glimpse a small asari sitting at the floor of a shelter, a thin hand trembling as she begged for food to feed herself. From the looks of her thin body, she wasn't going to last another day if someone didn't give her anything at all.

In other words… this place was the worst place to be in, but Athena and I had no other choice.

The dull thumping of the Afterlife Club vibrated through the floor and I could see a huge line up at the door while a krogan bouncer stood at the front, preventing anyone from getting inside. I felt my body stiffen with nervousness and uncertainty, but I swallowed my fear and headed over to get in the line, only to see a human standing at the front and… I realised who he was.

"Come on, let me in," he begged the krogan.

"Go away, human," the krogan growled in a bored manner, rolling his eyes. "You're holding up the line."

"Not until I get inside," the man snapped furiously. "I told you time and time again that Aria is expecting me. Why won't you let me in?"

"The last time I let you in," the krogan grumbled, "Aria was not expecting you and she had you tossed out for that."

There was a groan from the man's mouth and he threw his arms up in the air in frustration. "Fine, I'll leave," he admitted. "But next time Aria's expecting me, she'll have your head on a fucking platter."

The krogan just simply muttered something underneath his breath as the human stormed away in a huff, allowing the cue to move on again. I couldn't help but snicker at the poor bastard's unfortunate turn. With the line moving again, it shrunk down quite quickly now that the human was gone. I guess the krogan really didn't like that human, hell even the elcor didn't like him either. When I finally got to the front, the krogan looked me up and down with a suspicious frown on his scaly brow.

"Nice armour you have there," he rumbled. "But just because you're wearing something that makes you look dangerous, doesn't mean that you are. You here to cause problems?"

Beneath my helmet, I was chewing my lip with nervousness. This was my first time meeting an alien since my awakening here, hell I'd have settled meeting a turian rather than a fucking krogan. This guy was massive compared to me, and his large, intimidating form was not making this any easier. I'd have to be honest with him. I shook my head in response.

"No, I'm not. I'm actually here to speak with Aria," I replied through my filtered helmet, I was trying to keep my voice from shaking.

" _Easy, Connor,"_ Athena kindly reassured me. I mentally told her my thanks as my fear slowly ebbed away, but it wasn't enough.

The krogan closed his right eye and continued to look me up and down, sizing me up. "So, it's your first time on Omega, isn't it?" I didn't have to answer because he hit the mark. "Hmph, I don't know why Aria would want to speak to someone like you. You don't look like you've seen enough action to fully experience it."

I hesitated, but I said nothing in an attempt to try and keep a good appearance and hide my fear. When the krogan said nothing more, I mentally sighed and said with a little more determination, "Well, can I go in and see Aria or not? I'd hate to keep a lady waiting."

"Sure, whatever," the krogan muttered. "I'll let Aria know that you want to see her." He inclined his head over his shoulder and stepped aside. "Just don't cause any problems or you'll be tossed out."

"Thanks," I said and made my way up the stairs and through the door. I let off a sigh of relief and proceeded on through. I hadn't realised that I'd been trembling until I was at least halfway through. Worst of all, my heart was seemingly pounding quite fast in my chest. Shit, I hadn't been that anxious since the whole station blew up. Then again, nothing would ever stop a human being from being scared in this world.

The beat of the music continued to grow louder the closer I got, but once I finally stepped through, everything seemed to cave in. The music blaring was barely recognisable, but I could definitely make out the lyrics of _What is Love_ by Haddaway. Huh, someone has some interesting taste. Can't say the same for a certain video that was going on back in my world. The strong scent of alcohol was definitely there in the thick atmosphere, even amongst the dancing bodies I could see that everyone was having the time of their lives, from turians to Salarians, even a couple of drell were hanging around at the bar. I had to force myself to look away when my eyes rested upon the screen of a screening of a half-naked dancing asari's rear end.

" _Connor, you're staring,"_ Athena amused chuckle, but I ignored her. I couldn't afford any distractions, so I carefully shifted into the darkest corners to avoid the crowds and shady looking characters that might have been looking my way. I walked around the screen, even ignoring the asari who was winking at me in a manner that caused me to blush even more. God, do asari really like the dangerous looking types?

I didn't see Aria overlooking the crowd in her usual spot, so she had to be sitting at her couch with her guards standing close by. The familiar looking turian standing guard near the foot of Aria's booth was also there. If my memory was good, then anyone would recognise Grizz. I didn't hurry over, I just carefully took my time in approaching him, but Grizz had already seen me and he stood at attention as I came within speaking distance.

"So you're the one I should be keeping an eye out for," he rasped, his mandibles twitching. "Gorth said I would recognise you by the armour."

"Yeah," I said. "I need to speak to Aria."

"No one doesn't come walking in here without a good reason," Grizz said. "If you think you can speak with Aria without it, you should go home. This ain't no place for people like you who think they know what they're doing when in fact they don't."

Irritation washed over my brain, but Athena soothed my concerns. "Listen, I have a damn good reason for being here," I stated firmly. "Aria's the only one who can help me."

"So said the last person who walked in here with fancy looking armour," Grizz argued. "They thought they had what it took to get some work and be a hero, they were killed within an hour."

If I wasn't wearing the helmet, Grizz would've seen the anger flashing in my eyes. I was tempted to punch him in the face, but I stilled my desire. I didn't want to make a bad first impression to Aria by hurting one of her men. Then again, she always hated chivalry. I might have to push some buttons in order to get what I wanted. Omega was a dog-eat-dog word, a very dangerous place. Sooner or later, I was going to make some enemies.

"The last person who crossed me **,"** I growled, "I ended up causing a whole station to explode. I don't want to do the same to Omega. Or do I?"

Grizz raised a scaly eyebrow. Whether it was from surprise, amusement, or disbelief, I had no idea. He shook his head and I thought for sure he was going to send me away without seeing Aria. "You blew up a station, huh?" he asked and I nodded stiffly. It was really half the truth because Miranda started the damn thing, I just caused a better boom. "Alright then, tough guy, it's your funeral. Don't say I didn't warn you."

I roughly brushed right past him, ignoring the next sentence he uttered from behind my back about humans being very stubborn. I didn't care at this point, reacting towards something so petty would get me into deep shit. Heads turned as I walked up the stairs and my eyes finally rest on the Queen of Omega, her eyes narrowing in suspicion at the sight of me, purple skin tensing beneath her eyes. She doesn't make a sign for anyone to shoot me, so I guess that's a plus.

I was barged by a batarian donning black and grey armour, a pistol raised in my face, followed by a turian and a krogan reacting just the same. I stared down the barrel of the batarian's pistol. If he had seen my face, he would've caught the glare. Aria was still watching me quietly for a reaction. Maybe she was waiting to see what I would do? Let's see what happens…

"Might want to be careful where you're aiming that thing," I said quietly through my filtered voice. "You could poke someone's eye out with it."

Unfortunately, the batarian doesn't take too kindly to my statement and he shoved the pistol further into my face. "Choose your next words carefully, human," he spat. "They might just be your last."

The model of the pistol in his hand was a Predator, so I could easily take it from him and slap him silly with it, but only if the right button was pushed. Plus, the stupid bastard had it right where I wanted. Then again, I was not in the mood for shit like this. "You trying to ruin my day, asshole?" I asked coldly, keeping my voice level but still in a threatening manner. "You're going to have to try harder than that. I've been in worse situations than this. I'm not trying to brag or anything, but you don't even come close to the last guy I killed. He was in a combat suit of armour and I still killed him. Hell, I even blew up a station. You want to be next on my kill list?"

From the looks of the other guards, they were all more than happy to watch the outcome of the situation. Hell, even Aria seemed to be enjoying the scene with a bemused expression.

"Who do you think you are human?" the batarian snarled, still keeping the gun within inches of my face. The temptation to take it from him was growing even more. "You think some kid like you can just walk right in here and do whatever the fuck you like?"

"I'm not intending to do anything of the sort," I replied, shaking my head, but I kept my eye firmly on the weapon in front of me. "I'm here to see Aria and you just so happened to put a gun in my face without even being ordered to. Keep it on me any longer and there's going to be trouble."

Fury blazed across all four of the batarian's eyes. "Or you'll do what?" he demanded angrily.

My hands clenched into fists, but the batarian didn't seem to notice. "Or I'll be forced to do this." Without warning, I punched the batarian's hand aside, forcing him to drop his weapon. Before he had time to realise what was happening, I grabbed the same arm and twisted behind his back roughly. While he was immobilised, I snatched the pistol from the ground and pointed it directly at the back of his head. All of this has transpired in less than two seconds. "Still think my armour is too fancy?" I growled, keeping the pistol trained on him.

" _Have to thank Miranda for that first thing she taught you,"_ Athena commented and I couldn't help but let off a small smile. _"Never aim a weapon within five feet of someone."_

I soon realised that nothing had happened as the batarian remained in his humiliating position, and then… over the blaring music, I heard chuckling, followed by slow clapping. I looked up and saw Aria doing exactly what I'd heard her do. She was still sitting in her seat, but she definitely had a small smirk on her thin lips.

"Very bold move of you," she said, the rest of the bodyguards lowered their weapons and I returned the pistol back to the batarian. He shot me an angry glare, but he took it back with a huff of annoyance. "He's been doing that at everything and everyone who approaches me. It was starting to get boring." The batarian opened his mouth in some form of retort, but a look of warning from Aria kept him quiet. "From the looks of you, you must be new around here."

I nodded in response and she beckoned me to come forward and take a seat. I do so with a slight hesitation, my shoulders stiffening somewhat, but I swallow my fear and sat down in the same seat where Shepard would end up sitting. Better not get too close to avoid any problems.

"How do you know?" I asked curiously.

"First of all, I've never seen your armour," Aria answered with a frown. "Hell, I've never even seen such a design like that before. Custom designed is it?"

I just shrugged. "You could say that," I replied.

"Interesting," Aria muttered. "But second of all, anyone who has experience on Omega would know what happens when you point a gun in someone's face and not know when he intends to shoot it. Then again, I would expect nothing less from someone like you. I assume you know who I am?"

I nodded. "Anyone from across the galaxy would've heard or even seen the Queen of Omega known as Aria T'Loak. I'm sure some of them didn't live to tell the tale if they crossed your path."

"Then at least you know enough about me and the one rule on Omega," Aria smirked. She definitely had this sly look about her. The venom in her tone was enough to tell me that it was a threat. I could tell it wasn't really a question. She wanted to know if I had enough knowledge about the one line that would send chills down anyone's spine. "But I'm sure you'd be happy for me to remind you."

"Oh please do, your majesty," I said, leaning forward a bit in my chair.

She threw her head back slightly and laughed. "Oh, you I definitely like," she said. Jesus I hope that's a good thing. I'd hate to make a powerful enemy out of her. "The rule is simple: Don't fuck with Aria."

The emphasis she put into that very declaration sent chills down my spine. I'm sure most of those crazy self-insert authors always trembled when they heard Aria's infamous line in the flesh. "I'll be sure to remember that while I'm here," I told her.

"If you fail to follow it," Aria frowned and she inclined her head to her bodyguards, "these guys will be sure to remind you."

"And then we toss your sorry ass out the nearest airlock," the nearby turian growled warningly. The batarian who I fucked with snarled in agreement. Man, that guy is a total douchebag.

"Got it," I said. "Don't piss off the queen. But, no offense, can we get straight down to business?" My eyes shifted left and right. I had to be absolutely sure that no one else was within ear range asides from Aria's bodyguards. I doubt she'd just send them away if I asked her to, it would only make her even more suspicious.

"Oh?" Aria said, leaning forward slightly. "Anxious to get the… ball rolling, was it? And who are you to be making demands? What makes you think I want to do business with a stranger like you who has no appointment with me in the first place?"

"I…" I hesitated for a moment and I nervously swallowed. "I need your help, Aria."

She raised an eyebrow. I wasn't sure if I had got her attention, asari were really hard to read for such a long lived species. "And what makes you think I want to help you? Don't waste my time, kid. I'm not interested if you're going to keep talking like that."

"Cerberus is after me," I stated. There was a slight hint of movement in her face, her eyes widening a little, before her expression returns to its cold demeanour. "Is that enough for me to get your attention?"

"And why should I care that Cerberus is after someone like you?" she asked. "If you're here to bring them to Omega, I'll be more than happy to offer you to them when the opportunity presents itself."

Shit, I couldn't afford to lose this chance. If Aria refused to take me in, I'd have to hideout somewhere else. One other thing plagued the back of my mind, and after a quick debate with Athena, I mentally sighed in defeat. "Because I can offer my loyalty and my services to you," I told her quietly.

She angled her head slightly, now fully interested. "Just what kind of services can you provide to me?"

"Cerberus experimented on me," I explained to her. Don't beat around the bush, Connor, get to the point. "They forced me to bond to this armour and now I'm trapped in it forever. They injected me with some serious shit that gave me biotics. I escaped by blowing up one of their stations in the Horsehead Nebula. I know they'll want this armour back, but they'd have to kill me first by ripping it from my spine." I lowered my head, chewing my bottom lip. "I came here because I had no other choice. This was the last place they'd even think about looking for me."

Aria sat there quietly, but I wasn't sure if she was really listening to my stupid story. If I had to guess, she looked rather bored. But after a few minutes of silence, she rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "So you came running to me, offered yourself to me, and somehow expect something in return?" she asked coolly.

I shook my head. "I don't expect anything in return," I replied. "I just want to lay low until things quieten down with Cerberus, as well as look for some work. If anything… by offering myself to you, you'd have a powerful weapon in the palm of your hand, you'd even be free to use me how you see fit. Use me like your loyal subjects. Send me in and those who do not bow to you or question you will be killed by my hand under your orders. They'll think twice before even fucking with you."

She raised an eyebrow and she was quiet again, her expression completely unreadable as she thought about my suggestion.

I hoped down to the bottom of my heart that I knew what I was doing. I must be fucking insane to be offering myself up to Aria fucking T'Loak. But then again, what choice did I have? If I ran solo on my own, then Cerberus would come running straight here, listen carefully to rumours about my armour and find me within a matter of days after arrival.

If Aria declined, then I'd have no choice but to move on somewhere else. The problem was going anywhere public with this fucking armour and not being able to take it off. I really hate my life right now…

At long last, Aria replied, "Alright then." Her tone was evenly calm, but still dropped a hint of curiosity and suspicion.

I think I made a loud sigh of relief, because Aria suddenly cut in again, "But! I'd like for you to do something."

Shit, I should've known there was a but in there. "What is it?"

She smirked. "You didn't think you could just waltz in here and ask me to join up with my forces without doing anything did you?" When I shook my head, her smirk grew ever bigger. "A little test," she said. "One simple little test. Succeed, and I will accept you and reward you handsomely for it. Fail, and I'll see to it and that you're off Omega…" her voice dropped to a threatening whisper that sent stronger chills down my spine, "permanently."

"Alright then… what do you want me to do?" I asked quietly.

Aria turned her head to the side, raising her voice slightly over the loud music. "Gavorn, get over here."

A few seconds later and the captain turian made his way up the steps to stand before the asari queen. "You called, ma'am?" he asked.

"This is Captain Gavorn," Aria introduced and I nodded to the turian, who just ignored me. "He'll be going with you to keep an eye on the test. You will be heading into a territory belonging to a small merc group who call themselves the Talons. Their leader – Ultus D'vark – stole some cargo from me. They're planning to make a deal with the Blue Suns by selling that cargo to them. I want you to head there and kill him. I don't care what you do with the rest as long as he is dead."

"In that case," I said, "what can you tell me about the Talons? I can't just go running in without knowing what I'm dealing with."

"The captain will be telling you all the details when you get there," Aria said and she motioned to one of her guards, who stepped forward, omni-tool open and ready. "I'll have coordinates transferred to your omni-tool."

Well I suppose it was better than nothing. I opened up my own to accept the transfer. "Thanks," I said, once the transfer had been completed. I then stood up and gave Aria a small nod. "I'll be sure to succeed."

"See to it that you do," Aria smirked, "otherwise the captain will be the one to scrape what little of you remains off the floor."

"Not funny," Gavorn growled, but she ignored him and she turned her back on us, giving the confirmation that we were dismissed.

I take a deep breath, but I was quick to check to make sure that my weapons were still attached to my armour. I was walking into the unknown and I had no one but Gavorn to watch my back, that is if he was going to get involved at all in the little skirmish. Once I was certain that I had everything, Gavorn and I made our way to the exit of Afterlife and over to a set of skycars sitting nearby.

Welp… here goes nothing.

Time to kick some ass and take some names.

* * *

 **Oh god, I hope I nailed Aria's character... she was SO hard to write, and I mean... REALLY hard. Goddamnit.**

 **Also... A shout out to all of those who are in Paris going through the traumatic horror that just occurred not long ago. My prayers are with you, your families, friends, and for the ones that were lost. I mourn the losses that had transpired. Please, be safe on this sad and horrific day.**


	9. Testing, One Two Three

Vindicated Masses

 **Alright! Talons Like Iron got some love, now its time for THIS one to get some love of its own. It's been forever since I updated this story and I'm pretty sure you're all dying to see what happens next. Well, you're getting it now and you're getting some action!**

 **Let's get started!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9:**

 **Testing, One Two Three**

* * *

"This is the place," Gavorn said.

To be perfectly honest, the warehouse wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Gavorn had landed the skycar a short distance away, but it was far enough away to avoid any unwanted attention. We had then snuck up close enough for the turian captain to explain what was what. Although, I was expecting it to be a little more like a warehouse and less like a dump. The smell was beyond putrid that made me glad I was wearing a helmet to cover my face. Hell, even Athena had commented that she was glad that she was an AI inside my armour that couldn't smell. Gavorn, however, was not so lucky. The poor bastard looked like he was on the verge of chucking his guts out.

Gavorn and I were hidden on top of a roof just across from the warehouse. From this position, we had a good view of the whole damn area. I could make out at least six mercs that looked exactly like turians dressed in red, yellow and white armour, but most of them were not wearing any helmets at all. It's like as if they were deliberately tempting someone to come along and kill them.

"The cargo has been placed inside that warehouse," Gavorn explained after a quick scan of the environment. "Our job is to kill the head of the Talons and secure the cargo. That simple enough for you?"

I looked at him, secretly glad that my helmet hid my emotions. "Simple enough," I replied with a nod. Hell, I was even gladder that my voice was filtered too. If he had sensitive ears that was good at picking up human emotion, he would've detected the hint of uneasiness coming from it. "A question though."

"What?" he snapped quietly.

"How long will it be before Ultus shows up to make the deal?" I asked.

Gavorn raised a questioning scaly eyebrow in a hilarious expression for a turian. "Shouldn't be for another hour or so," he sighed. "Once the Blue Suns arrive, we'll have a good position for you to give him a headshot."

"And what if they're expecting someone to come along and kill him or the other who's accepting the deal?"

Gavorn's mandibles flickered a bit and he opened his mouth to retort, but then he seemed to do a double take as he considered my words more carefully. Well then, guess he never considered that before, and he was supposed to be the more experienced fighter out of the two of us. Gavorn grumbled something inaudible, something my ears obviously couldn't pick up. Instead, he leaned against the wall behind him and pulled something out of his armoured pocket. We're going to make a kill in less than an hour and he decides to smoke a cigarette?! What the hell?

I don't know what made me feel the urge, but I found myself staring at the deathstick. Gavorn seemed to notice my stare and he took out another and threw it over to me. I caught it easily and he handed me his lighter. I collapsed the bottom half of my helmet, stick the cig in my mouth and light it up. Thank god there was no air currents blowing, otherwise I'd have a hard time getting it going. Once it was lit, I threw the lighter back to Gavorn and take a drag, inhaling the comforting smoke deeply into my lungs.

Oh god, that felt so refreshing…

I exhaled and the smoke whooshed out into the air from my mouth and nostrils. I felt a little refreshed and my head became clearer. "Thanks," I said. Gavorn just shrugged and I take a seat on the floor, letting the time flow by.

Making a conversation with Gavorn wasn't going to be easy, he still probably thought of me as untrustworthy. If I was in the same position as he was, I would be cautious too. Omega wasn't exactly the nicest place in the galaxy, and definitely not the first place to be a good hiding place. I just hope my test to please Aria would go according to plan, otherwise I could kiss my chance of being safe goodbye.

" _Just do your best, Connor,"_ Athena's gentle voice said through my head. Jesus, I had forgotten she was right there. _"As long as we work together, we'll succeed and we'll both survive."_

'Thanks,' I replied to her.

Suddenly, a gust of wind and the thrumming of a shuttle engine interrupted our conversation.

Gavorn and I looked above us, and a jet black shuttle appeared from out of nowhere and descended towards the landing area.

"I better get into position," I muttered under my breath.

As if Athena had read my thoughts, I engaged my cloak. Gavorn seemed to jump with mild surprise but shook it off. I picked myself off the floor and clambered down the ladder, letting myself slide with ease until my feet touched the ground. I had to remember every ounce of my training with Miranda, it was kind of like being in a _James Bond_ movie, only with more fancy tech and shit to assist me.

The loud humming of the shuttle soon died down and I drew back with a start, half expecting that the mercs had noticed me. _"It's still engaged, Connor,"_ Athena reassured me. _"You can relax."_

Relaxing was not my idea of staying in one place for too long. I had only six more seconds of energy left in the cloak bar and then I was doomed to wait another minute or two for the bar to refill again. I take a quick note of the several meter gap between Gavorn's hiding place and the warehouse in front of me. Any moment Ultus will be walking out of the building with the cargo and I'd have failed the test.

It's now or never.

I take a deep intake of air through my filters and break off into a fierce run across the court. Already I could feel my heart thumping against my ribcage, but I didn't stop. I had less than three seconds on my cloak. I powered my leg muscles and leapt with every fibre. I sailed through the air, tucked myself into a ball, and felt my stomach churn as I rolled not once, not twice, but three times before I finally picked up off the ground and ducked behind the building.

Holy fucking shit! My heart was pounding furiously in my chest until it ached into my arms. I hadn't noticed I was trembling until Athena took note of shaking. I quickly shake it off, determined not to let it get the better of me. I disengaged the cloak, giving it time to recharge, and I sneak a peek from behind the wall.

The shuttle had touched down moments ago, its thrusters now silenced. I can make out the sound of voices chatting, possibly the Blue Suns' members who were here to make the deal with Ultus. I could still make out the form of Gavorn on top of the roof across from the yard, his eye looking through the scope of his rifle, watching… waiting.

I sucked in another breath through the vents in my helmet and carefully pulled out my compound bow. A part of me felt like I hadn't used it in ages, but my fingers gripped it tightly. I took out an arrow from my back and notched it. I very slowly pulled back the string, but not too much to avoid straining my muscles, and aimed down the sight.

The turian clad in red and brown armour strolled out from the building, flanked by two other turians, both of them fully armoured and armed to the teeth. The one in the middle definitely had to be Ultus, the bastard seemed to carry himself in a very confident manner: back straight, held high, weapons in near reach in case something went wrong. The two turians on either side of him held their assault rifles in a not so relaxed manner. Their heads scanned left and right for any signs of trouble.

Across from them, the shuttle's doors opened and a batarian wearing blue and white armour, helmetless and carrying a shotgun came out. Just like Ultus, he too was flanked by two armoured guards. One of them was a turian, the other a batarian. Curiosity tingled at the back of my mind. Usually the Blue Suns also had humans in their ranks, but this guy must really hate them to not include them in today's meeting.

" _The best word you're looking for, Connor,"_ Athena said without warning, almost making me jump, _"is paranoia. Those you are not comfortable with after a disagreement you tend to put at an arm's length distance."_

'Gee, thanks,' I replied to her and focused on the task at hand.

The lead batarian walked forward with his flanked soldiers while Ultus stopped at a distance with his own. Once the batarian was at a certain distance, probably no more than at least ten feet, he made a signal with his head and both of his men readied their stance.

"You're alone?" Ultus suddenly asked.

"You told me to come like this," the batarian sniffed as though he was offended, angling his head toward the right. "I am a man of my word."

Ultus nodded and he took a few steps forward, covering the distrusting distance between them. "Apologies, Ogakira," he said sincerely and he tilted his head slightly to the left. The batarian – Ogakira – has his upper eyes frown in utter disgust, but he said nothing in response.

"Well then," Ultus said with snort, "do you want the cargo or not?"

"What?" Ogakira growled, "you thought I was here for a dance lesson?"

His troops snickered behind his back. Man, what a lame ass joke that was.

Ultus rolled his eyes and he made a gesture to one of the soldiers next to him. The turian whipped out his omni-tool and typed in a few commands. A few moments later and the doors to the hangar open up, revealing a large container. If my guess was as good as correct, that had to be the cargo that Aria wanted back.

" _So what are you waiting for?"_ Gavorn's impatient voice cut through my com-link.

"This," I raised my voice and fired off the arrow that I had been dying to unleash. The arrow zipped through the air and sank deep into the neck of one of Ogakira's men. The turian goes down, a gurgling noise escaping from his mouth.

"Intruder!" Ultus shouted and his hands curled with dark energy and he threw a warp ball straight at my face. I tucked and rolled just in time, my cover exploding to pieces. I leapt back on my feet and threw my own warp back at him. His eyes widened and he jumped aside like it was nothing.

Bullets from both parties rain down on me and I quickly engage my cloak, vanishing from sight.

"Where the fuck did he go?" Ogakira demanded furiously.

"I don't know!" shouted his remaining batarian.

Now that I was out of their line of sight, I had to remember about my cloak's energy bar. I only had seconds to work it out, so I darted over to the batarian and whipped out one of my hidden blades. I placed a hand over his mouth and burrowed the blade deep into his neck. He collapsed while choking on his own blood and I disengaged my cloak.

"Right here you bastards," I grinned.

All four aliens turned just as I came out and Ogakira's eyes only seemed to bulge with absolute rage. He took out his assault rifle and he fired without any warning. I ducked into another piece of cover and removed my omni-blade from my belt. I hadn't used this baby since the escape from the station, so I might as well put my skills to good use.

"Come on out, you freak!" a turian, not Ultus, shouted.

"Okay," I calmly replied and hauled myself over the covering. I ran straight toward the group and aimed right for one of Ultus' men. I could've sworn I felt bullets bounce off my shields, dwindling down its energy levels, but I paid no heed to it. The important thing was removing the threat before they became too much of a problem. I gripped the blade tightly in my hand and burrowed it deep into the chest of a turian, the smell of burned flesh sweeping through the olfactory sensors.

" _Behind you, Connor!"_ Athena shouted.

I turned just in time to feel a force of impact connect with my chest. I felt myself fly and land roughly on the solid concrete. Holy shit, that actually hurt like hell. I breathed deeply to make sure that none of my ribs were broken, but it was hard to tell because of the pressure applied to my chest. I picked up off the ground just in time to see a fist slam into my helmet. My head flew back a little from the punch and I felt Anger course through my blood. I grabbed the second fist with my own. The turian gasped with surprise and I applied pressure to his closed fist, a whimper of pain escaping from his lips.

"First of all, dickward," I sneered, "I'm not a freak."

I added more pressure and he let off a groan of agony.

"Second…" and my voice dropped to a threatening whisper, "don't fuck with Aria!"

I lifted a knee and slammed it hard into his stomach. He gasped and fell to his knees. I took out my blade and stabbed it directly into his neck, the satisfying gurgles of his death filling my ears.

That narrowed the force down to three. I lifted my head and turned to them, but they were all slowly backing away in fear. That was exactly what I wanted, but a deal was a deal. I had to kill Ultus according to Aria's wishes.

"Who the hell are you?" Ultus cried, keeping his pistol pointed at me.

I pretended to think, but I kept an eye on him, making sure that he didn't escape. "Who am I?" I asked with my synthesized voice, boy I must sound like a total badass. "I'm your worst nightmare coming straight from the bowels of hell to finish every last one of you."

I take a step forward.

"I'm the one who is going to eradicate you all one by one."

Another step.

"But if you must know the one who is going to bring death to your doorstep… I'm the Vindicator, and you'll die knowing that every single of your men will fear the name."

I suddenly lunge forward and charge straight at them, but I didn't aim for the turian or Ogakira. No, my target was Ultus and that was it. The turian and the batarian turned and fled, but Ultus was frozen in fear as I came and leapt on top of him. My boots pinned him down and I could've sworn I heard the crack of his ribs breaking beneath my weight.

"I made a deal with Aria, Ultus," I growled coldly, "and that's to remove you from the face of Omega. You fucked with Aria, and you're going to pay the price for your stupidity."

"No, wait!" Ultus screamed, trying to cover his eyes with both his arms.

"Too late, you fucktard!" I raised an arm and stabbed Ultus straight in the eyeball and into his brain. Blood filled up in the turian leader's mouth as I twisted the knife cruelly, the squelching noise of his brain matter collapsing beneath the pressure of the blade told me that it had been the cruellest death I could give him.

" _No mercy,"_ Athena whispered sadly.

"Kill or be killed," I said to her. "It's the way of life on this godforsaken rock."

I wrenched my blade free and stepped off the now dead turian. I wiped the blood and gray matter on the leg of my armour. All I could picture in my head the terrified eyes of Ultus, and the sounds of his dying screams blared through my ears, but I pushed them to the back of my mind. Now wasn't the time to be going back to square one.

"Well done," came Gavorn's voice and I looked up just in time to see him approaching and clapping at the same time. "Colour me impressed with your skills."

"Thanks," I said quietly.

"What did you say your name was?"

I was automatically about to say my real name, but I thought better of it. I had wanted to start afresh on this hospitable dustball and I was going to do exactly that. "Vindicator," I answered.

Gavorn shrugged and he pulled out his omni-tool. "Hey, it's me," he said. "The kid killed the bastard like you wanted. Send in your men to secure the cargo, we'll wait until they get here."

* * *

An hour and a half later and I found myself walking up the club's stairs again with Gavorn at my side, only this time I wasn't feeling as nervous as I used to be. I carried myself in a new light and I felt better than I used to be when I made my first kill back at the station, though I doubt the memories of Ultus' death was going to go away that easily.

Athena had reassured me that things would get a little better with time. I was inclined to believe her, but I still felt a twinge of guilt. Then again, I had to remember that Ultus chose to fuck with Aria and he paid the price.

Once we got up to the top to Aria's booth, none of Aria's bodyguards even raised a weapon or said anything at the sight of my presence. Aria was leaning back in her chair and eyeing me carefully, but other than that, she said nothing as Gavorn brought up his omni-tool and passed something to her.

She stared at her own and I realised it was a video of myself sneaking and killing the bastards one by one. After what felt like hours were merely minutes, she nodded and whispered something to Gavorn. Gavorn replied something and departed from the booth without a backward glance over his shoulder.

"So," Aria finally said as I took a seat near her, "you killed Ultus like I ordered you to."

"Yes," I replied.

"And you feel no guilt over what you did?" she asked. "No remorse? No thing?"

I looked down at the floor and let the heavy music drown out my hearing. Eventually I looked up and shook my head. "No," I answered. "I don't feel anything, not anymore."

"Good," Aria smirked. "You passed the test. You secured the cargo and you killed the bastard like I wanted you to. That makes you worth something."

Well that was good news, at least I can get something out of it.

"You said you were trapped in the armour, correct?" Aria asked.

I nodded and allowed my helmet to collapse back and reveal my face to her. Aria said nothing at first, but then she tilted her head a little. It was as though she had expected me to reveal my face right from the start. "Gavorn said you called yourself Vindicator," she stated, her tone lowering a little, "but I do ask: what is your real name?"

"Connor," I sighed.

"Good enough," she said. "Your codename will be Vindicator and you will be called that when you're working for me, but when you're in my presence, you will be addressed by your real name."

"Can't argue with that," I said.

Aria tilted her head to the side and raised her voice, "Rhnyxea!"

Confused, I turned just as a figure stepped out from the shadows like a ghost, their footsteps completely muffled by the beat of the heavy music. To be honest I was in… awe. The figure was a female turian! I half expected her to have her helmet covering her face, but she wasn't wearing one.

Her cool amber hawklike eyes looked me up and down curiously and she swept her black cloak over her shoulder. Light purple facial markings decorated her mandibles, nose, and chin, and she sniffed as though she had smelt something weird.

"You called?" she asked, never taking her eyes off me.

Aria glanced from me to back at the turian. "Rhnyxea, this is Connor," she smirked. "He'll be staying with us for a while. I want you to show him the ropes and make him feel… welcome. Connor, Rhnyxea Solinus, one of my best."

Huh, never knew Aria had a female turian amongst her ranks, not since Nyreen Kandros had entered her life and then left. Definitely can't say no to having someone to show me around. I raised a hand to Rhnyxea. "Good to meet you, ma'am."

She stared down at my hand for a moment, as though she was trying to work out what the gesture was. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she raised her own hand and shook it. "Pleasure's all mine, Mr. Connor," she said, her mandibles flickering in the form of a smile.

"Connor will do, thanks," I automatically responded.

She rose a scaly brow and shook her head.

"If you two are done getting acquainted," Aria interrupted, rolling her eyes, "I have my first orders for you. Rhnyxea will be your trainer. She will show you how to master your biotics, show you the outskirts of my territory, and so on. Gavorn told me your skills were quite… poor in hindsight."

"Yet, somehow, I passed," I grumbled.

"Only because I could use someone like you around here," Aria mentioned, her eyes narrowing into near slits and her voice dropped to a near whisper. "I always get what I want. However, you need to be shaped up into a better soldier. Rhnyxea will do that, I trained her how to use biotics and so she will do the same with you."

Her eyes flickered over to the female turian.

Without looking at her boss, Rhnyxea nodded in response.

"Now get out of my sight," Aria sniffed. "I have a business to run. You'll start when Rhnyxea thinks you're good enough, and when she says you are, then you're ready to work for me."

Fuck, I should've known that it was a terrible idea to use my biotics…


	10. Friends in High Places

Vindicated Masses

 **At long last the long and tiring wait for this chapter is finally over. Sorry it took so long and I really hope that Rhnyxea doesn't come a bit off. I didn't want to make her like she was a saint like Nyreen Kandros, but rather someone with a bit more of a twist to her personality. Hopefully she's okay and not a copy of Nyreen. I don't intend her to be.**

 **Please enjoy this!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 **Friends in High Places**

* * *

I pushed myself to leap across the next roof over, feeling the rush of air despite being enclosed in my armour. I hadn't had a good run in a long time, but it felt good nonetheless. After Rhnyxea and I had been dismissed by Aria, the turian lady had been kind enough to show me around Aria's territory. For the past half hour, we'd been jumping across the rooftops without even stopping, and I wasn't even close to getting tired.

Neither was Rhnyxea.

At first I thought she was a little unfit, but she proved me wrong by making the biggest jump I'd ever seen a turian do. She had then tucked, rolled, got back to her feet, and then had made another leap to the next roof. I hadn't been far behind, but I was a little less graceful than what she had pulled off.

"I have to say it, Connor," Rhnyxea said once I'd caught up with her, "I'm impressed."

"Thanks," I grinned good naturedly, but I suddenly remembered that she couldn't see my face, so I collapsed the helmet. "Comes with the territory of being Cerberus' experiment."

She frowned when I mentioned Cerberus, but she didn't answer.

"Hey, uh, since you're showing me around, Rhny… Rhny…"

"If you're having trouble with my name," she said, "just call me Nyx."

"You say it like you've said it hundreds of times," I chuckled and she flickered her mandibles.

"Nearly everyone I've met has always had trouble pronouncing it," she replied, turning her head away, but she was smiling, I think. "The only ones who can say it are either turian or asari. Everything else is just a mixed bag."

"I bet that must be an annoyance."

She shook her head. "Not at all. I hear it so often that it's become an ideal habit for me to repeat." She shrugged her shoulders. "Humans, batarians, and even quarians have a hard time, so I can understand your viewpoint. Turians can pronounce it easily because it's in our language, asari because they're a natural at it. Maybe you humans have trouble because of those… whatever it is you have on your mouth."

"You mean lips?" I laughed.

"Oh, so that's what they're called," she muttered under her breath. She raised a scaly brow in amusement and I couldn't help but do the same in response. "Well then, shall we continue the tour?"

I nodded and she resumed running, approaching the edge of the roof and then pushing off in a simple leap that carried her to the next one over. She stopped and turned back to give me a cocky smirk. Oh, so she was daring me to try and keep up with her in the form of a game, was she? Well then, time to show her what a human can really do. I brought my helmet back up, took a deep breath and ran as fast as I could toward the edge. Just before my feet touched the end, I leapt. I sailed through the air, only to suddenly stop short and I realised my mistake, I'd jumped too early, leaving me just a two foot gap before I could touch the other side. I raised my arm in the nick of time and grabbed hold of the ledge and almost knocked myself senseless from the brunt of the impact, my vision spinning for several seconds.

"Connor, are you alright?" Rhnyxea's voice called down. Was that worry in her voice? She'd only just met me, why did she care already?

I looked up and saw her staring down at me, her eyes filled with concern.

I glanced down below me and suddenly wished I hadn't. God damnit, heights are fucking scary when you have no control over it. "Oh, you know," I stammered nervously, trying not to look down again, "just… hanging around."

The turian chuckled softly, she kneeled and grabbed my wrist. With little effort, she heaved me back up until I was safely on solid ground. She patted me on the back as I sucked in air to stop my heart from racing. "First lesson for the day, Connor," she joked warmly, "look before you leap."

" _She's right,"_ Athena commented, _"you have to be more careful next time. This isn't a place like the Citadel, it's a kill or be killed world."_

"Right, right," I sighed, responding to both Rhnyxea and the lovely lady living in my brain. "Where are we going next?"

Rhnyxea glanced around for a moment, her hawklike eyes scanning every ounce of the territory she had known most of her career. After a few moments of silence, she returned her gaze over to me. "I think we've gone far enough for today," she said. She then pointed toward the east. "The border of Aria's territory ends right over there after the markets. Go no further than that and you won't have any problems with the other gangs. Near that way belongs to the Blue Suns."

I followed her talon to where she was pointing. From what I could make out, there was a soldier clad in blue and white armour with a half-risen sun on their shoulder guard. He was looking our way, assault rifle at the ready should we make any hasty movement toward forbidden territory. That had to be the Blue Suns she'd mentioned before. I couldn't exactly tell what species it was because of how far away they were, but if my guess was as good as correct, that had to be a batarian or a human, considering it lacked the crest of a turian. Unless of course, that could be a female turian.

"Okay then, anything else I need to know?" I asked as Rhnyxea turned to make her way over to the ledge of the roof. She stopped and looked thoughtful but then shrugged.

"I've shown you where the borders are and where you can and cannot go," she informed. "As much as I admit to liking to having to teach you things, it's getting late. Check your time."

" _It's 5pm Earth time,"_ Athena added in helpfully.

"Oh," I said. "Um in that case, is there anywhere I can stay? I don't exactly have a place right now. All I've got is my ship."

She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, eyes blinking at me and staring in suspicion, but when she detected that my question was an innocent one she relaxed. "A lot of the hotels around here aren't exactly cheap, and most of them are pretty shit. However," she brought out her omni-tool and typed a few buttons, it glowed once and then faded, "I've transferred coordinates to a hotel nearby. The owner of it owes me a favour for saving his hide, so he should be able to help you. Mention my name and he should let you in, provided you've got the credits."

I felt one of my eyebrows twitch in surprise. "Uh, I'm a little short on cash," I admitted.

Her scaly brow furrowed in annoyance and she shook her head. With another wave of her omni-tool she pressed her arm close to mine and my own omni-tool came online. "I've transferred enough credits that should last you until Aria pays you. Show him the credits and he'll accept it without any complaints. Most of the time it takes… credits to… 'jog his memories'," she did the infamous air quotes.

"So, who am I asking for?" I asked.

"He's a salarian named Tollan Edne, he's not the most social of salarians, but deep down he's a good person that you can trust to watch your back. He will not give away your location, especially if you happen to work for Aria. He's also one of the few people who gives Aria knowledge of what goes on in Omega. You're welcome to ask him for information, but it will require credits. Information does not come cheap."

I transferred the coordinates over to Athena who immediately got to analysing the data. "Thanks, Nyx," I said gratefully. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Aria will be expecting you to arrive at the early morning of your Earth time," Rhnyxea explained. "Come no later than before 0800, otherwise she might consider you," she frowned darkly hesitating a little at the word as though she was trying to find an appropriate expression, "obsolete."

I nodded once and the turian made her way back over to the edge of the rooftop. She stopped with her clawed feet just touching the edge. She lifted her head and turned to glance over her shoulder, "I'll start your biotic training when you come back for your first day. Don't worry about what Aria thinks in regards to your… poor skills, I'll handle her."

"She taught you how to use your biotics effectively, I take it?"

She nodded in response. "Yes, she took me under her wing and taught me almost everything she knew. Of course, she has to keep up her appearance. It's never a good idea to have weaknesses when you're the queen of Omega."

"Someone could exploit it," I finished.

"I see you're smarter than you let on, Connor," she smirked, winking. "I like that."

She then shook her head once again and turned around. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you later," I replied and Rhnyxea was gone as she leapt off the building and down to the shadows of an alleyway. She was long gone before I even got to where she'd just been standing. She'd pulled a Houdini. Man, she was swift on her feet. I had to learn that trick sometime. If I did, I could probably pull a Batman, now that would be pretty badass.

" _Connor, focus please,"_ Athena chided, but I thought I could hear her giggling.

Oh right, the salarian. Can't forget my important mission before tomorrow, braving the dark streets of the most lawless place in the fucking galaxy. With my lovely enthusiasm plaguing my brain, I set out to where Athena had set a waypoint for me to follow that would lead me straight to Tollan. His place was a bit further from my location, just a few blocks away. It would most definitely be easier to just run along the rooftops like Rhnyxea had shown me.

It should be a piece of cake.

Right?

* * *

"This is not what I had in mind!" I shouted out loud as I dangled over the edge of a roof that I'd attempted to clear. It hadn't exactly gone to plan and here I was, holding onto the edge with my hands and struggling to pull myself up. My god was the wall fucking slippery!

I thought I heard giggling in the back of my head and I instantly knew that Athena was struggling to not laugh at my predicament. I was supposed to be a professionally trained killer, and here I was making a complete fool of myself in front of my AI companion who could not see for shit. She could practically feel the trepidation welling up in my brain!

"Okay, okay," I grumbled as I finally realised that there was pain building up in my shoulders from all the weight my arms had been holding onto. With a grunt, I dug my heels into the wall and pushed up using my lower legs. After a few seconds, I rolled onto the roof and lay on my back, panting heavily. I fucking hate heights. By no means do I have a damn phobia of them, I just hated them so fucking much.

I just laid there in silence, letting my heart have a chance to calm down from the overbearing adrenaline that was pumping through faster than I could comprehend. I think Athena had sensed my distress and was leaving me be for a moment so that I could get my bearings together. Once it had passed, I picked myself up and checked my omni-tool for the coordinates. Seems like I was getting close to where Rhnyxea had told me to get to.

I checked below me and spotted the very hotel that the coordinates had led me to. It… wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It looked like a dump from the outside: cracked windows, half-dead alien plant life decorating the balconies, a broken flashing sign on the top. Yup, this is definitely a terrible looking place, but if Rhnyxea said I could trust this salarian to keep my identity a secret, then why the hell not.

I felt the warm, reassuring tingle from Athena at the back of my head and I couldn't help but smile a little. It was nice to know that I had someone keeping an eye on me, even if she couldn't see.

I poured some of my will into my biotics and wrapped a field around myself, allowing all feeling of weightlessness overcome my body. Gently, I floated downward from the rooftop until I was back on solid ground. Thank god watching Samara do it the first still remained in my brain. It was still pretty epic.

Checking that the coast was clear, I made my way over to the hotel and pressed a button on the door to call.

" _Connor,"_ Athena gently spoke in my head. _"Can I ask you something?"_

I folded my arms across my chest and answered, 'Sure, what is it?'

" _I… I do recall Doctor Carrington mentioning that this armour was… never designed to come off."_

She sounded uncertain, and… possibly afraid? Why would an artificial intelligence be afraid? If she was right in front of me right now, I'd be lifting a brow at her. 'Yeah?'

There was a sigh in my ears and I felt a small hint of pity toward her. _"I've processing on this ever since we arrived on Omega, trying to calculate and simulate whether it was possible, but… if I could do it, would you want me to figure out how to remove it?"_

I felt my heart skip a beat in nervousness. 'You… think you can do that?'

" _I didn't want to get your hopes up, Connor, in case it couldn't be done,"_ Athena said hurriedly. _"But if I can work out a code that can get the armour off but without detaching it from your body without killing you…"_

'I'd be able to have a shower again and smell like a decent human being,' I finished with a sigh. 'Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't get my hopes up, but just… do what you can. If you can't…'

" _Then we'd be in the same situation since you were brought here, yes,"_ Athena added. _"I'll do my best, Connor, but no promises."_

'I understand,' I whispered.

"Can I help you?"

"Whoa!" I jumped back as the voice spoke right in front of me and whipped out one of my handcannons in the face of the speaker. God, I really need to name these guys when I have the time to settle down. What I was not expecting was the terrified face of a beady eyed salarian staring right back at me.

"P-p-please don't kill me," the salarian begged in a pathetic voice, raising his arms up. "I swear Aria will get the info she needs, just don't kill me!"

Wait, what? I lowered the gun and had my helmet collapse into my neck. "Jesus, dude, chill the fuck out," I said. "I'm not here to kill you, you just scared the living shit out of me."

"Y-you're not here to kill me?" the salarian asked, hesitantly lowering his hands.

"Of course not," I replied. "I'm here because I need a place to stay. A certain turian recommended you. You are Tollan Edne are you not?"

The salarian relaxed somewhat, but his eyes still blinked in the gloom. "You're going to have to jog my memory, human."

I waved the credit chit in his face. "Will this suffice?"

At first the salarian – Tollan – became hesitant at the sight of the chit, but eventually his three-fingered hand snatched it from me. "That turian happened to be Rhnyxea Solinus, correct?" he asked.

"The very same."

"This is the favour I'm paying her back for?" Tollan demanded and he threw his arms up in the air. "If she thinks I'm sheltering a human that she likes, she has another thing coming!" He prepared to close the door, only for me to once again wave another chit in his face. "On second thought, fine. Get in before I change my mind."

I did so without hesitation, not wanting to throw more credit chits in his face. Tollan stared icily at me but he led the way upstairs and down a long corridor. The building looked a lot better inside than it did outside, huh. After a turn at the end, we stopped at a door and he opened his omni-tool. "This will get you inside the room," he said simply. "You're welcome to stay as long as you want, as long as you have the credits for it. I don't care what Rhnyxea thinks of you, whether she saved my life or not, you're not getting any special treatment from me. I've got to make a living you know."

"I know," I answered.

"You're buying your own food and supplies," Tollan stated. "I don't care what you do in there as long as you pay your rent on the weekly basis, got it?"

"Understood."

He nodded, satisfied, and then left without another word. Once he was gone, I opened my omni-tool and used the transferred codes to unlock the door. The door split open with a creaky hiss and I stepped inside. The room wasn't exactly what I was expecting, much like the corridors. They were mostly neat and tidy with only a bit of dust on the floor and furniture. The single bed was in the middle of the main room with a small tv that I could tune into and a table and chair, while to my left was the bathroom with a rusty shower, toilet and sink, and on my right was the kitchen. Just like the bathroom, it too had its fair share of rust and it smelt a little strange, like as if someone had sprayed something to kill a foul odour. It wasn't a three-star hotel, but it will suffice as a living condition until I got my first payment.

Hesitantly, I stored my bow and Thanatos underneath the bed. It wasn't exactly a great hiding spot, but if I was going to sleep a little more comfortable, then it was the best spot to put them until I got something a little better. Maybe I could build a safe or perhaps add a hidden floor panel? So many ideas and so little time.

Which reminds me.

I took both my handcannons off my waist and sat myself down on the bed, staring at them idly. I really needed to name them just like I named my rifle, so… I know that a few people put engravings on their guns and these two were no exception. I remember a certain character from a certain game named their twin guns Ebony and Ivory. Hah! That's a laugh.

I picked up the purple and blue handcannon. It was no different from the red and yellow one, just slightly longer in the nozzle and perhaps a little bit heavier. I knew the perfect name for this one. I activated my hidden blade and twisted it slightly so that I was holding it like a knife. I then carved in a single word on its right side in the best possible cursive writing I could manage: _Sorrow_.

Satisfied, I put it aside and then picked up the red and yellow handcannon. It was lighter and slightly smaller than Sorrow in the nozzle, but it was still pretty good. And if I was going to go with the flow with the name, then this one will have something similar. I carved in the cursive word on the left side of its barrel: _Regret_.

Sorrow and Regret.

God, I need to lay off the hardcore rock.

There was a faint glow from my omni-tool and Athena materialised. She peered down at my handiwork and the left side of her mouth pulled up, followed by a raised brow. "You're naming your guns after that?" she questioned teasingly.

"My taste in music kind of sucks," I joked. "But… its one of the only things I know from home."

Sadness seemed to pass through Athena's eyes. I'm not entirely sure if a synthetic like herself could feel such emotions, but then again, she was capable of learning and adapting, so I don't really know. "You told me about your mother passing and your father raising you and your sister by himself," she said softly, "but you never told me what you mostly did."

"Honestly, Athena, I would really like to tell you more, but… I am pretty tired. We can talk about it another time," I said, followed by a wide yawn escaping my mouth. It's been a very trying day today: getting on Aria's good graces (for now), killing the leader of a mercenary group, jumping across rooftops to learn the outskirts of my new boss's territory, yup definitely has been a very long day.

"Very well then," Athena said, nodding in agreement, but there was a slight hint of disappointment on her expression before it was immediately gone. "Get some rest. Sleep well."

And with that she faded out, but the warm sensation was ever present at the back of my neck. It gave me nothing but comfort and it made me feel better that I had someone still looking out for me. I laid down on the bed and did my best to try and get comfortable with my heavy armour making it almost impossible to fall asleep, but eventually I managed to will it to come with one final thought in the back of my brain: _This is going to be home for who knows how long_.


End file.
